What everyone wants to know

What is HIV?
Is HIV and AIDS the same thing?
Is there a cure for HIV?
How is HIV passed on?
Could I get HIV?
How can I protect myself from HIV?
What should I do if I think I have put myself at risk?
Are there people living with HIV in Jersey?

What is HIV?

HIV is a virus that causes the incurable and life-threatening medical condition called AIDS.

HIV attacks the body’s immune system - the body’s defence against diseases. The latest research suggests that between 70 and 90 per cent of people may experience symptoms of infection a few days after having been infected. Three symptoms occurring together: fever, rash and a severe sore throat should always be considered a potential indicator of HIV infection. These symptoms usually disappear within two or three weeks. Other people may not have symptoms when they are first infected.

In all cases people who have been infected are most infectious themselves during the first few weeks after their infection. This is the time when they are most likely to pass the virus on to other people if they have sex without a condom or share injecting equipment with other people.

In all cases, without effective treatment the immune system will eventually become very weak and no longer be able to fight off illnesses. This is when someone is said to have AIDS.

Is HIV and AIDS the same thing?

No. When someone is described as HIV positive they have the virus in their body. If they do not have an HIV test and do not receive anti-HIV treatment, their immune system will gradually be weakened by the virus until it eventually becomes so weak that it can no longer fight off a range of diseases with which it would normally cope. At this stage they would be diagnosed as having the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome or AIDS.

Is there a cure for HIV?

No, but there is treatment that can keep the virus under control and the immune system healthy. People on treatment can live a normal life although they may suffer side effects from the treatment. If HIV is diagnosed late, however, treatment may be less effective in preventing AIDS.

How is HIV passed on?

HIV can be passed on through infected blood, semen, vaginal fluids or breast milk. The most common ways HIV is passed on are:

Unprotected sex with someone living with HIV
Sharing infected needles, syringes or other injecting equipment
From an HIV positive mother to her child during pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding. However there are effective steps a mother can take to reduce the possibility of her unborn child contracting HIV.
Oral sex carries a much lower risk than penetrative sex, but HIV can still be enter the bloodstream through cuts, gum problems or ulcers in the mouth if they come into contact with infected body fluids.

HIV cannot be passed on through:

Kissing or touching
Spitting coughing or sneezing
Toilet seats, swimming pools, or shared facilities or eating utensils.
Insect or animal bites

Could I get HIV?

If you are sexually active or use injecting equipment you could be at risk from HIV. In the UK some communities have higher rates of infection, particularly gay and bisexual men and Black African men and women. However last year more heterosexual people were diagnosed with HIV in the UK than gay men.

How can I protect myself from HIV?

The World Health Organisation (WHO) says the safest way to avoid infection is: "Two partners who do not have HIV who only have sex with each other for the rest of their lives and do not inject drugs."

If you are sexually active, always use a condom when having vaginal or anal sex. Condoms must be used properly and every time you have sex. Always use a condom that carries the European CE safety mark . You can get free condoms from Brook and the Sexual Health (GUM) clinic. Details of the Condom Distribution Scheme can be found on this website.

Never share needles, syringes or any other injecting equipment.

What should I do if I think I have put myself at risk?

If you think you have placed yourself at risk from infection by HIV you can ask for a free confidential HIV test at the Sexual Health Clinic.

If it is less than 72 hours since the incident of possible exposure to HIV you can ask for Emergency Prevention or PEP at the Sexual Health Clinic or the Accident and Emergency Department at the General Hospital. The sooner this treatment is begun, the higher the probability the treatment will be effective.

Are there people living with HIV in Jersey?

Yes. However, at the present time we do not know how many people are infected. In 2009 the government will start a programme on Unlinked Anonymous Testing in Jersey which will give us more information about the numbers of people living with HIV in the island who are undiagnosed.
We do know that there are currently around 80,000 people living with HIV in the UK and about a third of those do not know they are infected. We also know that the epidemic is still growing in the UK with around 7,000 new diagnoses every year. There is no reason to believe that the situation in Jersey is any different from the UK. Therefore we must make sure everyone knows how to avoid infection.

Last Updared April 2010