4TheRcrd Mag.

Here’s a continuation of my previous post as promised…and it’s really just a coincidence that I’m posting this after Valentine’s day.

How is HIV transmitted from one person to another?
The virus is present in the blood, semen or vaginal fluid of an HIV-infected person. Therefore, sexual contact (anal, oral or vaginal) or sharing needles with an infected individual will put you at risk of contracting the virus. Also, babies born to HIV positive moms are at risk of being infected.

Normal daily activities DO NOT put you at risk. e.g. hugging, kissing or shaking hands with an infected person. Also, insects (e.g. mosquitos) do not transmit the virus.

How do I protect myself?
To reduce the risk of sexual transmission of HIV, there’s good old abstinence, or having one/fewer partners, and using condoms correctly and consistently. To reduce or eliminate the risk of HIV transmission through blood, do not share needles or any equipment that might have traces of blood from another individual.

How/ where do I get tested for HIV?
The BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) has a handy list of various clinics around the province.Testing for HIV involves taking a blood sample and looking for the presence of antibodies produced by the body against the virus. It might take 4-16 weeks for antibodies to appear in the blood after an infection, so the test might turn out negative for several weeks even if a person is actually infected.

Are the results anonymous?
When it comes to HIV testing in BC, there are several options. A person can choose to have nominal testing, where the patient’s name is linked to the test sample, or non-nominal testing, where only the initials and birth date of the patient are labeled on the sample. BC also offers anonymous HIV testing, where only a code is used.

Note: HIV is a reportable disease, meaning that public health officials have to be notified of a positive result. The main purpose of this is for the health official (e.g. a medical health officer or a nurse) to work cooperatively and confidentially with the patient to consider how any partners of the patient will be notified.

Fire me questions. Or, if you would like to read up on your own and find out more, here’s a list of useful online resources (Thanks Kamal for contributing most of the list)

Local Resources:
AIDS Vancouver: http://www.aidsvancouver.org/sitemap/
British Columbia Persons with Aids Society:www.bcpwa.org
YouthCo AIDS Society: www.youthco.org
Asian Society for the Intervention of AIDS:www.asia.bc.ca
Healing Our Spirit BC Aboriginal HIV/AIDS Society:www.healingourspirit.org
Positive Women’s Network: www.pwn.bc.ca

Other resources:
Canadian HIV/AIDS Information Gateway: http://www.hivinfovih.ca
Avert- An international AIDS charity: http://www.avert.org
The joint United Nations program on HIV/AIDS: http://www.unaids.org/en/KnowledgeCentre/Default.asp

IMAGE CREDIT: http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/nm/20071214/2007_12_13t184325_450×302_us_hiv_semen.jpg