HIV and AIDS

What’s HIV? What’s AIDS? What’s the difference?

HIV is the virus that causes AIDS. HIV infects, and gradually destroys, a person’s immune system which protects them against infection and cancers. When a person’s immune system is damaged by HIV and their body can no longer protect them from specific illnesses we say they have AIDS.

 

 

HIV stands for

  • Human
  • Immunodefiency
  • Virus

AIDS stands for

  • Acquired
  • Immune
  • Deficiency
  • Syndrome

Having HIV in your body does not mean you have AIDS but without treatment HIV will lead to AIDS.

The NZAF has extensive HIV research and analysis here

Transmission

HIV is transmitted by:

The body fluids that contain enough HIV to infect someone are:

  • semen
  • vaginal fluids, including menstrual blood (a women’s period)
  • breast milk
  • blood
  • mucous found in the rectum
  • pre-cum (the fluid that the penis produces before ejaculation)

Other body fluids, like saliva, sweat or urine, do not contain enough of the virus to infect another person.

What’s safe?

HIV is not passed on through sharing food, eating utensils or by drinking from the same cup as someone who has HIV. You can hug, kiss and touch someone with HIV and not worry about getting HIV. You can also use a public toilet or telephone, share a towel with someone or swim in a pool and not be concerned about being accidentally infected.

Prevention

There is no cure for HIV, so it’s essential to reduce your chances of getting HIV, or if you do have HIV, from passing it on to others:

  • always use condoms and lube for anal or vaginal sex (oral sex is a much lower risk activity)
  • limit the number of sexual partners you have because your risk of getting HIV goes up with the number of partners you have.
  • do not inject drugs or if you do, always use new equipment and never, ever share needles. NZ has an excellent Needle Exchange Programme that provides free or very low cost new syringes and equipment at more than 200 outlets all over NZ.
  • If you’ve been having unprotected sex, get tested for HIV and other STIs.

Signs and Symptoms

It’s possible to have HIV for a long time, even years, but show no symptoms. The only way to know for sure is to have an HIV test.

Some of the common symptoms of HIV infection include:

  • unintentional weight loss
  • diarrhoea
  • skin rashes, especially on your face, genitals or anus
  • an increase in herpes ulcers or thrush infections in your mouth and genitals
  • sweating profusely, especially at night
  • unusual tiredness
  • nausea or loss of appetite
  • swollen lymph glands in the neck, groin or armpits.

What to look out for

These symptoms can all be caused by conditions other than HIV. However, if you think you may have been exposed to HIV, if you’ve had unprotected sex or if you experience all or some of these symptoms persistently, it’s a good idea to get an HIV test.

Testing

It takes just 20 minutes to test for HIV at an NZAF Regional Centre or counsellor. If you’d like to book an HIV test or simply want to know more about them you can do so here.

The FASTest that the NZAF uses is

  • FAST
  • ACCESSIBLE
  • SIMPLE
  • TEST

The NZAF FASTest for HIV is an antibody test. Antibodies are the immune system’s response to infection. On average it takes three months for the body to produce antibodies. So if an antibody test is performed during the first three months after a person is infected, during the window period, it is likely to show up negative, even though the person has HIV. This is why an HIV test must always be followed up after three months with a second test to be sure that the result is accurate. Any HIV test that has a positive result in New Zealand must be confirmed by a Western Blot test which is carried out by a doctor.

Living with HIV in New Zealand

In New Zealand most people living with HIV live long and productive lives by taking antiretroviral medication that treats HIV. However, while HIV can be treated there is still no cure. People who do not know that they have HIV for a long period of time can develop AIDS and AIDS-related illnesses.