AIDS is caused by a virus called Human Immunodefficiency Virus or HIV.
HIV is in blod, semen and vaginal secretion. It is transmitted through sex, blood and breast milk.
HIV is NOT transmitted through food, beverages, toilet seats, towels, kissing or regular social interaction.
HIV is NOT transmitted through food, beverages, toilet seats, towels, kissing or regular social interaction.
From its discovery in 1981 to 2006, AIDS killed more than 25 million people. HIV infects about 0.6% of the world's population. There were about 33,4 million people living with HIV/AIDS in 2008.
Most people who are infected with HIV get no immediate symptoms. Some will, around two weeks after contraction, get a fever, skin rashes and a feeling of sickness lasting from a few days up to a whole week (acute HIV).
HIV is treated with a combination of medicin that can block the development of the HIV-virus and thus stop the disease AIDS. But if you are infected with HIV, it will stay in your body forever.
You can get tested for HIV at your doctor's office or at a venereal clinic.
The best way to protect yourself against HIV is by always using a condom when you have sex, not just when you engange in regular intercourse but also when you have oral or anal sex.
