HIV & AIDS

What it is

The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a virus that stays in the body and attacks the immune system (which is the bodies’ defense against disease).  A damaged immune system is vulnerable to different infections and so it won't always have the strength to fight off things that it could have before.

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is a collection of specific illnesses and conditions that occur because the body's immune system has been damaged by HIV. Over a number of years, a person who has been infected with HIV is likely to become ill more and more often until they become ill with one or more particularly severe illnesses.  It is at this point that someone is said to have AIDS - when they first become seriously ill but different countries have different ways of defining this point.

Its estimated that there are 73,000 people – around 0.2% of the adult population – currently living with HIVin the UK. It’s estimated that one third of people living with HIV in the UK have not had their condition diagnosed, so many of these people have no idea that they are infected, and may be continuing to have unprotected sex or take part in other activities that can pass on HIV.

HIV can be transmitted in four main ways:

•  through unprotected vaginal or anal sex
•  through sharing needles, or other injecting equipment;
• from an infected mother to her baby, during pregnancy, birth or through breastfeeding;
• by infected blood, (though since 1985, all donated blood in the UK has been screened, so this is not a major transmission route in the UK).

What about the risks from oral sex?

It is possible to pass on HIV from unprotected oral sex, however the risks are lower than unprotected vaginal or anal sex.    There can be a risk for the person performing oral sex if their partner is HIV positive and infected fluids (semen, vaginal fluids or blood) come into contact with an open cut, sore, ulcer or inflamed area in their mouth or throat.  

There can be a risk of for the person receiving oral sex if their partner is HIV positive. However, this is believed to be less likely because HIV is normally only present in saliva in very low levels that are not sufficient to cause infection. There would be more of a risk if the person who is HIV positive was performing oral sex and had bleeding wounds or gums in their mouth or on their lips.  This is because infected blood could be transferred to the other person’s genitals or anus and may get into their bloodstream. 

HIV is not transmitted by everyday social contact, so you can’t get HIV from kissing, hugging, sharing toilet seats, cutlery, swimming pools or from having your food prepared by someone that is HIV positive. 

Who is affected by HIV?

Although HIV is often perceived to just affect gay men, heterosexual sex is actually the most common route of HIV transmission among people diagnosed with HIV in the UK, often involving infection overseas.

In the UK 82% of all HIV diagnoses have been in people aged 20-44 years old.  In the heterosexual transmission group, women and girls have on average been diagnosed at a younger age than men and boys - 43% of females were under 30 years old compared to 21% of males.   However, these figures are the age group at diagnosis, not the age at which people acquired HIV. 

Find out how to protect yourself against HIV and STIs.

Symptoms

The only way to know for sure is to get a blood test.   Many people with HIV feel completely normal and healthy for many years, often 10 years or more. Some people report having a flu-like illness within a few weeks of becoming infected, but because lots of illnesses have flu-like symptoms, it’s important to get tested if you think you could have been at risk. 

How do you test for HIV?

A blood sample is taken to test for HIV and the most common type of test is called the HIV antibody test. It is usually recommended that a person takes a test three months after they think they may have been at risk in order to get an accurate test result.  

How it is treated

HIV is preventable and treatable, but not curable.  Current treatment consists of a combination of three or more antiviral drugs. This combination treatment has enabled people with HIV to maintain good health. However, some cases can be found to be resistant to one or more of the antiviral drugs and long term outcome for people treated with combination therapies is still unclear.

For more information on HIV and AIDS, visit our useful organisations section.