Approximately 15 Floridians become infected with HIV every day. We still have much work to do and, to be successful in the fight, we must do it together. Remember, each of us is part of the solution to end this epidemic.
Get the facts about how HIV is transmitted. Become more aware of how you might be putting yourself at risk.
Risk Behaviors
HIV can be transmitted by any type of sexual contact (anal, penis-to-rectum; vaginal, penis-to-vagina; or oral, mouth-to-penis, -vagina, or -rectum), by blood-to-blood contact, including shooting drugs and sharing needles, or by a woman to her baby either before or during birth or through breastfeeding. HIV is not transmitted through any type of casual contact, nor by insects or animals. People are at risk of HIV infection when they participate in behaviors in which the exchange of bodily fluids is possible. Two risky behaviors are having unprotected sex with an infected person and sharing needles.
Body Fluids
HIV can live only in certain fluids of the human body. These fluids are blood, semen, vaginal secretions and breast milk. Saliva, sweat, urine and tears do not spread the virus because they do not have enough white blood cells for the virus to grow and survive.
Unprotected sex
Unprotected sex, or sex without latex or polyurethane condoms, can let HIV enter the blood. Vaginal, anal and oral sex each can transmit HIV. In an infected man, the semen (male sexual fluid) has a high amount of HIV. Semen can pass HIV from one person to another during unprotected vaginal, anal or oral sex. The virus can go through the lining of the vagina, anus or mouth into a person’s bloodstream. In women, vaginal fluids and menstrual blood can pass the virus to another person.
Needle-Sharing
The most efficient means of HIV transmission is blood-to-blood transmission. If sufficient amounts of HIV-infected blood get into the body, infection may occur. However, a sufficient amount of HIV-infected blood must enter the bloodstream to cause infection. It may take as little as a few drops for infection to occur. History has shown exposure of infected blood to intact skin (no open sores or lesions) does not transmit the virus.
If a person injects drugs either intravenously (into the vein) or intramuscularly (into the muscle) and shares needles, they are engaging in a behavior that puts them at great risk of transmitting HIV. This risk may be relative depending on the person’s geographic location. For instance, if a person shoots drugs and shares needles every day and lives in New York City, their risk of infection might be greater than someone living in an area with low HIV prevalence. However, regardless of where someone lives, infection may occur when needles are shared with an infected person.
Any type of needle sharing may transmit HIV. It is not just heroin, cocaine or some other injected street drug use that transmits HIV. If an infected body builder injects anabolic steroids and shares the needle with someone else, the virus may be transmitted. Sharing tattoo needles, or sharing needles for ear or body piercing, may also be a means of transmitting HIV. Intravenous infection could also occur among seniors who are diabetic and share insulin needles. Injecting drugs and sharing needles is the behavior that accounts for the second highest number of reported AIDS cases (behind sexual contact) in the United States.
If an injecting drug user continues sharing needles, he or she should clean their needles and syringes. Ordinary household bleach drawn into the needle and syringe can inactivate HIV. The bleach must be drawn into the syringe, shaken and squirted out. This process must be completed three times. Then, water must be drawn in and shaken to thoroughly rinse out the bleach. This process should also be completed three times since injecting bleach into the veins can be more deadly than HIV.
Individuals may reduce their risk of HIV from unsafe practices by:
Abstaining from injecting drugs
Abstaining from sharing needles, syringes, cookers, and other injecting equipment
Cleaning used needles and syringes three times with bleach and rinsing with water three times.
Non-Injection Drug Use
In several of Florida’s communities, injection drugs and paraphernalia are not as readily available as other drugs. Using illicit drugs and/or abusing prescription drugs does not necessarily put people at risk for HIV directly; however, the behavior that may accompany the drug use does. For instance, trading sex for drugs or for money to buy drugs increases the number of sexual partners and the risk of infection. Similarly, heavy alcohol consumption may cause a person to lose inhibitions and engage in unprotected sexual contact with an infected person and transmission could occur. Judgment is often impaired during inebriation and any measures to prevent the transmission of HIV by the individual may be compromised.
Blood Transfusions
Since 1985, all donated blood and blood products are screened for HIV. The risk of HIV infection through a blood transfusion is almost zero. Donating blood poses no risk because blood is drawn using sterile needles that have never been used.
Breast Feeding
Because there are documented cases showing that HIV can be transmitted from mother to infant through breastfeeding, HIV-positive women are counseled to avoid breastfeeding. The risk of transmission from mother to child through breastfeeding is present due to the high number of T-cells in breast milk. Without treatment, an estimated one in every seven infants breast-fed by an HIV-positive mother becomes infected through breast milk. If the mother does not want to feed her baby formula, another option is locating a milk bank (an organization that collects donated breast milk and distributes it). For more information on this option, look for the Human Milk Banking Association of North America, Inc. on the Internet at www.hmbana.com.
Substance Use
The use of alcohol and illegal drugs continues to be prevalent among some MSM and is linked to risk factors for HIV infection and other STDs. Substance use can increase the risk for HIV transmission through the tendency toward risky sexual behaviors while under the influence and through sharing needles or other injection equipment
Men Who Have Sex With Men
Sexual Risk Factors
Sexual risk factors account for most HIV infections in MSM. Not using a condom during anal sex continues to be a significant threat to the health of MSM.
MSM Who Are HIV-positive
Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) has enabled HIV-infected MSM to live longer. However, HAART’s success means there are more MSM living with HIV who can potentially transmit the virus to their sex partners. This emphasizes the importance of focusing prevention efforts on those who are living with HIV. Although many MSM reduce risk behaviors after learning that they have HIV, most remain sexually active. Most HIV-infected MSM believe that they have a personal responsibility to protect others from HIV, but some engage in risky sexual behaviors that may result in others contracting HIV
The Internet
During the past decade, the Internet has created new opportunities for MSM to meet sex partners. Internet users can anonymously find partners with similar sexual interests without having to leave their residence or having to risk face-to-face rejection if the behaviors they seek are not consistent with safer sex. The Internet may also normalize certain risky behaviors by making others aware of these behaviors and creating new connections between those who engage in them. At the same time, however, the Internet is a potentially powerful tool for use with HIV prevention interventions.
Social Discrimination and Cultural Issues
MSM are members of all communities, all races and ethnicities, and all strata of society. To reduce the rate of HIV infection, prevention efforts must be designed with respect for the many differences among MSM and with recognition of the discrimination against MSM and persons infected with HIV in many parts of the country.
Social and economic factors, including racism, homophobia, poverty, and lack of access to health care, are barriers to receiving HIV prevention services, particularly for MSM of minority races or ethnicities. African American and Hispanic men are more likely than white men to be given a diagnosis of HIV infection in the late stages of infection, often when they already have AIDS, suggesting that they are not accessing testing or health care services through which HIV infection could be diagnosed at an earlier stage.
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Together, we can become a powerful threat against the AIDS epidemic by turning our knowledge of HIV into action - and this action starts with each of us. That's the philosophy behind We Make The Change.
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