Last updated:
06 December 2007
What are HIV and AIDS?
- Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is caused by infection with HIV (human immunodeficiency virus). AIDS occurs some time (often years) after infection with HIV.
- AIDS includes a number of illnesses that a person can develop because his or her immune system is weakened by HIV infection. The more common of these are: pneumocystis pneumonia, Kaposi's arcoma, cytomegalovirus infection, tuberculosis, oesophageal candidiasis, cryptococcosis, and HIV encephalopathy.
- HIV destroys a type of blood cell (CD4+ or helper T cells).These cells help the immune system fight infections and cancers.
- HIV and AIDS were first identified in the early 1980s in the United States and soon after in Australia.
- Several hundred new infections of HIV occur in NSW each year.
- While the epidemics are stabilising in western countries, they are uncontrolled in many poor countries, particularly countries in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia.
What are the symptoms?
- A person infected with HIV may initially develop a mild illness (known as a seroconversion illness) consisting of muscle aches, low grade fever, headaches, and sometimes a rash. Swelling of the lymph glands may also occur. This flu-like illness usually subsides within a few weeks.
- Most infected people are then free of any symptoms for many years until they develop AIDS.
- When a person develops AIDS, symptoms may include a loss of appetite, diarrhoea, weight loss, fever, lethargy, fatigue, or the specific symptoms of a number of illnesses that define AIDS.
How is it spread?
- HIV is present in blood and other body fluids including semen, vaginal fluid, and breast milk. A person who comes into contact with the blood or body fluids of a person infected with HIV may be at risk of infection. HIV can be passed on from one person to another through:
- unprotected sex (anal and vaginal intercourse)
- shared injecting equipment
- pregnancy, birth or breastfeeding (from mother to child)
- contaminated blood or blood products
- contaminated piercing and medical equipment used on the body.
- In Australia, screening of donated blood and blood products has protected the blood supply since 1985. Medical equipment is sterilised or disinfected before use. HIV is not spread through casual contact at school, home, or the work place.
- HIV is not transmitted through air or water, sharing cups or cutlery, touching, kissing or hugging, or through bites of mosquitoes and other insects.
Who is at risk?
People at increased risk for HIV infection include:
- men who have sex with men
- injecting drug users
- sex partners of the above groups
- children born to infected mothers
- people who have unprotected sex especially with multiple partners.
How is it prevented?
To avoid coming into contact with HIV:
- practise safe sex. Use a condom and a water-based lubricant each time you have vaginal or anal intercourse
- use sterile equipment if you inject drugs. Do not share needles, syringes, filters, spoons, swabs, or tourniquets
- dispose of used injecting equipment in a Fitpack® or other approved containers for sharps. Containers can be collected and returned to a Needle Syringe Program (NSP) outlet or selected pharmacies (contact the Drug and Alcohol Information Service on the number listed below).You can also contact your local council for information about needle and syringe disposal in your area
- use disposable impermeable gloves when cleaning up blood spills or giving first aid
- wipe any blood spills with an absorbent paper towel and use detergent and water to clean up the site of the spill
- cover any sores, cuts or wounds with a waterproof dressing
- make sure that body piercing and tattooing is only done at shops that use new disposable equipment for each customer and proper methods of sterilisation.
If you think you have been exposed to HIV:
After contact with the virus, taking special HIV drugs may prevent infection. If you believe you have had a high-risk exposure, you can call 1800 737 669 for advice as soon as possible after the exposure.
How is it diagnosed?
- The only way to know whether you are infected is to be tested for HIV infection.The test is a simple blood test for HIV antibodies that can be done by your doctor.
- Tests can also detect the virus in the blood, and other tests are used to monitor the amount of HIV in the blood (that is, the viral load). Other special tests are usually required to diagnose an AIDS-defining illness.
How is it treated?
- There have been major breakthroughs in treating HIV and AIDS.
- Most people with HIV infection in Australia are treated with drugs known as antiretrovirals. These drugs are important for slowing down the effect of HIV on the immune system.
- Other treatments can prevent or cure some of the illnesses associated with AIDS.
- However, these treatments do not cure HIV. The early diagnosis of HIV infection allows more options for treatment and prevention.
If you have HIV:
- Do not donate blood, organs or other tissues.
- You must tell your partner if your are infected with a sexually transmissible infection (including HIV) before sex and always engage in safe sex.
What is the public health response?
Under the Public Health Act, laboratories must confidentially notify people with newly diagnosed HIV infection, and doctors and hospitals must confidentially notify people diagnosed with AIDS to NSW Health using coded identifiers only. NSW Health uses statistics on the number and characteristics of people with HIV and AIDS to help plan health services and preventative programs.
For more information
Call:
- ADIS (Alcohol and Drug Information Service) 9361 2111 or 1800 422 599
- NUAA (NSW Users and AIDS Association) 9369 3455 or 1800 644 413
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