Human immunodeficiency virus is the infectious agent that can lead to AIDS, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Human immunodeficiency virus is the infectious agent that can lead to AIDS, according to the U.S. Centers for
Human immunodeficiency virus is the infectious agent that can lead to AIDS, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
HIV is spread at any stage via blood, semen, genital fluids and breast milk, according to the CDC. AIDS occurs when so many of the body’s cells that fight infections are destroyed that the body is no longer able to combat disease or infection.
Having unprotected sex is the most common way the virus is transmitted in Hawaii, said Hawaii Department of Health’s STD/AIDS Prevention Branch Chief Peter Whiticar. Other means for transmission include pregnancy, childbirth, sharing drug injection equipment as well as sharing razors and toothbrushes, which may contain cells or traces of blood.
Transmission via injection equipment is less likely in Hawaii thanks to needle exchange programs, Whiticar said.
According to the CDC, contact with saliva alone has never been shown to result in the transmission of HIV. Further, there is no documented case of HIV being transmitted by a person spitting on another person.
The virus is also not transmitted by day-to-day contact in the workplace, at schools or in social settings. It is not transmitted through shaking hands, hugging, or by a casual kiss and you cannot become infected from a toilet seat, a drinking fountain, a doorknob, dishes, drinking glasses, food or pets, according to the CDC. Mosquitoes also do not transmit the virus.
“People with HIV can interact … with anybody in any way,” said Whiticar. “There is no reason in any way to discriminate against, fear or stay away from people with HIV. That fear and stigma is what keeps people from getting tested because they are afraid of being stigmatized if it’s positive.”
