Can You get AIDS

HIV is a virus that damages human immune cells. It weakens the immune system and leads most people to develop AIDS. Like all viruses, HIV infects the cells of a living organism in order to make copies of itself. HIV can only be transmitted in certain ways and the purpose of this page is to explain how you can and can’t become infected.

For many years now public health campaigns and education programmes have tried to teach people the ways in which they might be at risk of HIV transmission. In spite of this, some people continue to be confused about what is safe and what is not.

This confusion can lead to people becoming unnecessarily worried about ‘catching’ HIV. As a result, they may avoid or reject HIV positive people, increasing prejudice and paranoia about HIV and AIDS, and causing HIV positive people to feel isolated and alone.

Often these fears are unfounded. HIV is a virus that is found in blood and other body fluids such as semen and vaginal fluids. It cannot live for long outside the body, so to be infected with HIV you need to allow some body fluid from an infected person to get inside your body.

The most common ways that people become infected with HIV are:

• having sexual intercourse with an infected partner.
• injecting drugs using a needle or syringe that has been used by someone who is infected.

HIV can be passed on in both these ways because the virus is present in the blood and sexual fluids of an infected person. If infected blood or sexual fluid gets into your bloodstream, then you can become infected.