Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a communicable virus that leads to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Advances in medication have extended the lifespan for decades in some patients. The virus is transmitted by bodily fluids, which must somehow enter your bloodstream for transmission to occur. HIV can be prevented by avoiding contact with risky bodily fluids from people whose HIV status is positive or unknown to you.
Blood
Blood is one of the main transmission routes, but prevention is more complex than simply avoiding visible blood. Contact with the blood of another can come from vaginal intercourse or anal intercourse. It can also occur from sharing a toothbrush, razor or other blood-carrying instrument. Risk of blood contact can occur from a hairdresser who doesn't disinfect his equipment, a tattoo artist who reuses his needles, a hospital that doesn't properly disinfect medical equipment or a careless dental hygienist. It is therefore important to not only monitor your own behavior but also to choose caregivers and service people who are responsible enough to follow special precautions.
Sharing a needle, syringe or other equipment with an intravenous drug user places you at high-risk of contracting HIV. The San Fransisco AIDS Foundation explains that donating blood, however, is safe because sterilized needles are used each time. It is also safe to receive blood in the United States as it is always tested for the virus. Receiving a blood or blood product transfusion in another country may be risky: you should ask whether it has been tested for HIV. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that being bitten by a blood-sucking mosquito will not give you HIV. A bite from a person with HIV can transfer the virus to you.
Caregivers can get HIV from being stuck with a contaminated needle or other medical equipment. It is also possible, but highly unlikely, to have contaminated blood splash in the eyes or other orifices, ending up in the bloodstream.
Sexual Fluids
The HIV virus can be found in vaginal secretions and semen. It may also be present in pre-seminal fluid, the fluid discharged from the penis prior to ejaculation. These fluids must somehow enter the bloodstream, but this can occur through a mucous membrane, a tiny scratch, a mouth sore or a small wound you don't even realize you have. Ways to come in contact with these fluids include vaginal intercourse, anal intercourse and, occasionally, through oral sex. Babies born to HIV positive mothers can contract the virus from contact with the mother's vaginal fluids.
Breast Milk
Breast milk can transmit human immunodeficiency virus. A baby, due to low body weight, is especially susceptible to contracting HIV when breastfed by a woman with the virus.
