HIV/AIDS: An Overview

What does HIV mean?

HIV is an acronym – it stands for “Human Immunodeficiency Virus”. HIV is the virus that causes AIDS (see definition below), and the term for someone who has HIV is HIV-positive (HIV+).

What does HIV do?

HIV is a virus that attacks the immune system (hence the term “Immunodeficiency”); it spreads throughout the body and infects cells in the immune system – killing these cells and multiplying itself. The result of these attacks is an immune system which is weakened and, over time, becomes unable to fight off infections and illnesses. People who are HIV+ become unable to fight off infections that the body would normally fight off easily. In many people (but not always), HIV eventually becomes AIDS.

Is there a cure for HIV?

NO – there is not a cure for HIV. There are drug treatments available for HIV, allowing people who are HIV+ live longer than ever before.

Is there a vaccine for HIV?

NO – there is not currently a vaccine for HIV.

What does AIDS mean?

AIDS is also an acronym – it stands for Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. AIDS is the illness which often (but not always) results from having HIV.

What does AIDS do to the body?

People with AIDS have severely weakened immune systems. Because their immune systems are so weak, people with AIDS have illnesses, infections and cancers that are rare in healthy people – known as opportunistic infections. AIDS is typically diagnosed when someone is HIV+ and has one or more opportunistic infections.

How is HIV transmitted?

The HIV virus can be found in blood, semen, vaginal fluids, anal fluids and breast milk. HIV is most often transmitted through unprotected vaginal and anal (and sometimes oral) sex, sharing of drug use equipment (syringes, pipes etc), and during pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding.

HIV can enter the body through cuts, sores and other openings in the lining of mucous membranes (e.g. cuts inside of the anus, mouth, vagina).

To become infected with HIV, three things need to happen at the same time:

1. You need to have a “point of entry“ into your blood stream, such as a bleeding cut or an open sore. This cut may be so small that you don’t know you have it (e.g. tiny, painless cuts inside of the anus or vagina, on the head of the penis). These tiny cuts can happen as a result of the friction of having unprotected sex.

2. You need to be engaging in a “risk activity“. There are different types of risk activities, and some have a higher risk than others. For example, unprotected anal or vaginal sex and sharing needles are high risk activities. Unprotected oral sex carries some risk. Kissing is considered a low risk activity (unless both partners have open and bleeding sores in the mouth).

3. Infected blood, semen, vaginal fluid or breast milk (which contain the HIV virus) needs to be forced into the blood stream (e.g. through unprotected sex or breastfeeding).

*IMPORTANT TO KNOW: An HIV+ person can pass HIV to others before they even know they have it.  It is important to know your risk and practice safer sex!

You can NOT get HIV through any of these:

• Regular, day-to-day contact with an infected person
• Touching a person who has HIV/AIDS
• Sharing cooking utensils, dishes or other household items with an infected person
• Taking care of an infected person
• Toilet seats
• Donating blood
• Mosquito or other bug bites
• Hugging, kissing, petting, mutual masturbation
• Saliva, sweat, urine, feces, nasal secretions

When first infected:

Most people do not have any symptoms when they first become infected with HIV. Some people will experience brief, flu-like symptoms, including muscle and joint aches and pains, fever, rash, feeling tired/lack of energy and swollen lymph nodes. These symptoms are known as “seroconversion illness” and they take place when HIV is attacking the immune system and the body is forming HIV antibodies.

When a newly HIV+ person has no symptoms, they are referred to as being “asymptomatic” — and may not know that they have been infected. In fact, people with HIV may feel healthy for a long time after infection – up to ten or even fifteen years in some cases.

Because there are often no symptoms, the only way to know if you have HIV is to have an HIV test.

Over time, HIV continues to attack the immune system, eventually leaving the person vulnerable to infections and illnesses. Often the cause of these infections are common and would be fought off by a healthy immune system. These illnesses are referred to as opportunistic infections or AIDS-defining illnesses.

When an HIV+ person develops AIDS-defining illnesses, they are said to have AIDS. People with AIDS will often have periods of relatively good health, in between illnesses. They may even have periods where they go back and forth between “being HIV+” and “having AIDS”.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has identified over 20 AIDS-defining illnesses. These include:

• Candidiasis (yeast infections) of bronchi, trachea, or lungs
• Candidiasis (yeast infection), esophageal
• Cervical cancer, invasive
• Coccidioidomycosis, disseminated or extrapulmonary
• Cryptococcosis, extrapulmonary
• Cryptosporidiosis, chronic intestinal (greater than 1 month’s duration)
• Cytomegalovirus disease (other than liver, spleen, or nodes)
• Cytomegalovirus retinitis (with loss of vision)
• Encephalopathy, HIV-related
• Herpes simplex: chronic ulcer(s) (greater than 1 month’s duration); or bronchitis, pneumonitis, or esophagitis
• Histoplasmosis, disseminated or extrapulmonary
• Isosporiasis, chronic intestinal (greater than 1 month’s duration)
• Kaposi’s sarcoma
• Lymphoma, Burkitt’s (or equivalent term)
• Lymphoma, immunoblastic (or equivalent term)
• Lymphoma, primary, of brain
• Mycobacterium avium complex or M. kansasii, disseminated or extrapulmonary
• Mycobacterium tuberculosis, any site (pulmonary or extrapulmonary) Mycobacterium, other species or unidentified species, disseminated or extrapulmonary
• Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia
• Pneumonia, recurrent
• Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy
• Salmonella septicemia, recurrent
• Toxoplasmosis of brain
• Wasting syndrome due to HIV

The only way to know if you are infected with HIV is to have an HIV blood test done. The HIV test looks for HIV antibodies in the blood stream.

It takes 3-6 months before HIV antibodies can be detected. This means that even if you are HIV+, the antibodies won’t show up in your blood for 3-6 months after you are infected. Because of this, it is important to be re-tested if you think you might be HIV+, even if you have had a negative test in the past 6 months.

There are four (4) types of HIV tests available in Canada:

• Nominal (confidential) testing: your name is used on all medical forms and test results are recorded on your medical chart
• Non-nominal testing: your name is not used, instead a number code is used on your testing forms. Nobody can identify you from this testing, but the results are recorded on your medical records
• Anonymous testing: you do not give your name or identifying information when going for the test, and the results do not go on your medical record. Only you will know the results of your test. Anonymous testing is not available in all provinces.
• Rapid testing: this test is not available everywhere; it allows you to get the results of your test within a few minutes, at the testing site.

For more information about HIV Testing, contact your local AIDS Committee or Public Health.

HIV treatment has come a long way since the virus was first discovered; there are now over 20 drugs available to treat HIV and AIDS. People with HIV/AIDS can live a long, healthy and relatively normal life by following their treatment regime and seeing a qualified health care professional on a regular basis. There is no cure for HIV or AIDS.

People with HIV/AIDS will often combine a variety of treatment options, including drugs, vitamins, alternative healing, reflexology and nutrition. For more information about HIV treatment options, click here.