Questions & Answers about HIV/AIDS

(1) What is AIDS?
AIDS Stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome and is caused by a virus known as the Human Immunodeficiency Virus or HIV.


Acquired: Meaning that it is a virus that a person contracts as opposed to a condition that is hereditary (passed on through genes).

Immune: Your immune system is the part of the body that protects you from germs, viruses and bacteria and so keeps you healthy.

Deficiency: It creates a deficiency or weakness in you immune system, causing it to malfunction.

Syndrome: A wide range or different diseases, conditions and opportunistic infections someone with AIDS may experience.

(2) What is HIV?
Human: The virus can only affect humans.

Immunodeficiency: The virus causes the immune system to lack the required elements for it to function properly.

Virus: The germ (micro-organism) responsible for the infection. It is extremely small and can only survive and multiply within living cells at the expense of these cells.

(3) Which body fluids contain HIV?
HIV is present in infectious quantities in:

- Blood and blood products.

- Semen and possibly pre-cum (pre-ejaculate).

- Vaginal and Cervical Secretions.

- Breast milk.

(4) How is HIV transmitted?
The main route of HIV Transmission is through:

- Unprotected sexual contact with an infected person.

- By sharing needles with an infected person.

- From and infected mother to child during pregnancy, during birth or shortly after birth while breastfeeding.

(5) Who is at risk?
You are at high risk:

- If you have sex without condoms

- If you have many sex partners and do not use condoms

- If your sex partner(s) has/have sex with other persons without using condoms.

- If you have shared unsterilised needles for intravenous drug use.

- If you have sex with only one partner who is HIV positive.

(6) Can I get HIV from a mosquito?

No, it is not possible to get HIV from mosquitoes or other biting and bloodsucking insects. They do not inject its own or a previously bitten person's or animal's blood into the next person bitten.

(7) How can you determine if someone has HIV?

- The only way to ascertain if you are infected with HIV is to have a blood test for HIV.