HIV can be found in blood, vaginal fluid, semen, and breast milk. You can only get HIV if one of these fluids gets into your body. This can happen through:

• vaginal or anal sex (when no comdom is used)
• an open sore or wound in the skin
• getting one of the fluids into your eyes, nose or mouth
• sharing equipment to inject drugs

• sweat, saliva, tears
• hugging, touching, kissing
• coughing, sneezing
• mosquito bites
• sharing household items
• toilets, swimming pools
• donating blood

HIV is spread three ways:

1. Unprotected sex
Vaginal or anal sex without a condom is very unsafe. During sex, HIV in semen or in vaginal fluid can enter the other partner’s body through the soft, moist lining inside the rectum, vagina or mouth. Although HIV is more likely to infect the receptive partner, it can also enter the penis. Risk from oral sex is very low. It is possible to get HIV when giving oral sex if you have any cuts or openings in your mouth or gums (after brushing or flossing, for example).
2. Sharing items to inject drugs
Any needle, syringe, cooker, or cotton can have blood in it after it has been used. Blood may also stay in the water used to mix drugs or bleach equipment. If any of these items are shared, this blood can enter the body of the next user.
3. From an infected mother to her infant
An HIV-infected mother can pass HIV to her baby during pregnancy, birth, or breast-feeding. This is called “vertical transmission.” If the mother is taking HIV medications, the risk to the baby is much smaller.

Getting HIV from a blood transfusion or an organ transplant is very rare today. Anyone who has any risk of HIV exposure cannot donate blood. All donated blood, blood products, and organs are also tested for HIV and other blood-borne germs.

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is the virus that causes AIDS. HIV makes copies of itself by slowly killing a type of immune cell, the CD4 cell. Over time, this weakens the immune system. As a result, a person may develop serious diseases called “opportunistic infections.” These occur as a sign of later-stage HIV disease called Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). A person with HIV can also be diagnosed with AIDS when the number of their CD4 cells falls to 200 or below. HIV treatments can delay the onset of AIDS for many years.

Anyone who has unprotected sex, shares needles, or has certain other risks can get HIV. Each year about 350 - 400 people get infected with HIV in Nevada. There are approximately 8,000 people living with HIV in Nevada. Local experts believe that about one out of five people who have HIV don’t know it because they have not yet been tested or have not been tested recently.

Although it is possible to become infected with HIV through oral sex, the risk of becoming infected in this way is much lower than the risk of infection via unprotected sexual intercourse with a man or woman.

When giving oral sex to a man (sucking or licking a man’s penis) a person could become infected with HIV if infected semen came into contact with damaged and receding gums, or any cuts or sores they might have in their mouth.

Giving oral sex to a woman (licking a woman’s vulva or vagina) is also considered relatively low risk. Transmission could take place if infected sexual fluids from a woman got into the mouth of her partner. The likelihood of infection might be increased if there is menstrual blood involved or if the woman is infected with another sexually transmitted disease.

The likelihood of either a man or a woman becoming infected with HIV as a result of receiving oral sex is extremely low, as saliva does not contain infectious quantities of HIV.

Unprotected anal intercourse does carry a higher risk than most other forms of sexual activity. The lining of the rectum has fewer cells than that of the vagina, and therefore can be damaged more easily, causing bleeding during intercourse. This can then be a route into the bloodstream for infected sexual fluids or blood. There is also a risk to the insertive partner during anal intercourse, though this is lower than the risk to the receptive partner.

HIV and other STDs can impact upon each other. The presence of STDs in an HIV infected person can increase the risk of HIV transmission. This can be through a genital ulcer which could bleed or through increased genital discharge.

An HIV negative person who has an STD can be at increased risk of becoming infected with HIV through sex. This can happen if the STD causes ulceration or breaks in the skin (e.g. syphilis or herpes), or if it stimulates an immune response in the genital area (e.g. chlamydia or gonorrhea). HIV transmission is more likely in those with ulcerative STDs than non-ulcerative.

Using condoms during sex is the best way to prevent the sexual transmission of diseases, including HIV. AVERT.org has more information on STDs.

Even if your tests show that you have very low levels of HIV in your blood, the virus will not have been totally eradicated and you will still be capable of infecting others. Some drugs do not penetrate the genitals very well and so do not disable HIV as effectively there as they do in the blood. This means that while you may have little active virus showing up on blood tests, there may still be quite a lot of HIV in your semen or vaginal fluids. Transmission may be less likely when you have a low viral load, but it is still possible so you should always take appropriate precautions.

There is no risk for HIV from:

• abstinence (not having sex)
• sex with just one partner who is not infected and neither one of you ever has sex or shares needles with anyone else
• masturbation or hand jobs (where you keep your fluids to yourself)
• non-sexual massage or touch

Most other sexual activity carries some risk of spreading HIV. Talk with your partner(s) about HIV and other STDs before you have sex. Work out a safety plan that feels good for both of you.

To reduce your sexual risks, don’t let blood or sexual fluids get into your body:

• Be aware of your body and your partner’s. Cuts, sores, other STDs, or bleeding gums increase the risk of spreading HIV. Rougher sex can cause bleeding or small tears that give HIV an easier way to get into the body.
• Always use a safety barrier. For vaginal and anal sex, use a latex condom or polyurethane female condom. Pieces of latex or plastic wrap over the vagina, or latex condoms over the penis, are good barriers during oral sex.
• Lubricants reduce the chance that condoms or other barriers will break. Oil-based lubricants (Vaseline, Crisco, oils, or creams) can damage latex condoms. Be sure to use only water-based lubricants.
• Have sex with fewer people. More partners = more risk!

The only way to be 100% safe is to not use drugs. If that isn’t possible, use a brand new syringe every time you inject. If you don’t have a brand new syringe, bleaching syringes the right way may help reduce HIV transmission.

Cookers, cottons, barrels, plungers, or water used for mixing/bleaching also can transmit HIV. Do not share any of these items.

There are several local needle exchange sites that can trade new syringes for used ones. They also have information on drug treatment and opiate replacement programs. See current Needle Exchange Schedule. Pharmacies in WA State may also sell syringes to injection drugs users to prevent the spread of blood-borne disease. For a list of pharmacies, visit Participating pharmacies selling syringes to users.

This HIV test looks for antibodies to HIV in your blood or mouth tissue. If you are infected with HIV, your body makes very specific antibodies to fight the infection. These HIV antibodies are different from antibodies for the flu, hepatitis, or other infections. If you have HIV antibodies, then you have been infected with HIV.

The HIV test does not tell you if you have AIDS or how long you have been infected or how sick you might be. It just tells you that you have the virus.

After you are infected, your body takes time to make enough antibodies for the test to find. In almost everyone, this period is between 2 weeks and 3 months. For a few, it may take up to 6 months.

A negative result means that no HIV antibodies were found in your blood at the time of the test. If you had any sexual or needle-sharing risk during the 3 months before your test, your results may not be accurate. Your body may need more time to develop enough antibodies to show up on the test. To be sure, you must get another test at least 3 months after your most recent risk exposure.

A negative test result does not mean that you are safe from future HIV infection.

A positive result means:

• you have HIV
• you can give HIV to others, even if you don’t have symptoms or you are on treatment
• you may or may not have AIDS

Everyone who is at high risk of HIV infection should get tested every 3-6 months.

There is no way to cure HIV or AIDS or to “clear” the HIV virus out of your body. There are drugs that can slow down the HIV virus and protect your immune system. Researchers are still looking for a vaccine to prevent HIV infection.