General Facts

• More than 900,000 cases of AIDS have been reported in the United States since 1981. As many as 950,000 Americans may be infected with HIV, one-quarter of whom are unaware of their infection.
• The epidemic is growing most rapidly among minority populations and is a leading killer of African-American males ages 25 to 44.
• According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), AIDS affects nearly seven times more African Americans and three times more Hispanics than whites.
• In recent years, an increasing number of African-American women and children are being affected by HIV/AIDS.
• In 2003, African American females had more than 25 times the HIV/AIDS rate of non Hispanic white women and were 22 times more likely to die of HIV/AIDS as the same group.
• In 2003, two-thirds of U.S. AIDS cases in both women and children were among African-Americans.
• In Montgomery County, 192 newly diagnosed HIV cases and 131 AIDS cases were reported in a 12-month period ending in June 2005, according to the Maryland AIDS Administration.

Transmission

The HIV virus can enter the body through the lining of the vagina, vulva, penis, rectum, or mouth during sex. The following factors can put an individual at risk of being exposed to the virus.

• Risky Behavior. Risky behavior includes sharing drug needles or syringes; vaginal, anal or oral sex with an infected person without using a condom; and sexual contact with someone whose HIV status is unknown.
• Multiple Partners. Having multiple partners increases the exposure to HIV infection.
• Infected Blood. In the past, HIV was sometimes transmitted through transfusions of contaminated blood or blood components. Today, because of blood screening and heat treatment, the risk of getting HIV from such transfusions is extremely small.
• Mother to Child. Women can transmit HIV to their babies during pregnancy or birth. Approximately one-quarter to one-third of all untreated pregnant women infected with HIV will pass the infection to their babies. HIV also can be spread to babies through the breast milk of mothers infected with the virus.
• Sexually Transmitted Infections. If you have a sexually transmitted infection (STI) such as syphilis, genital herpes, Chlamydia infection, or gonorrhea, or if bacterial vaginosis appears, you may be more susceptible to getting HIV during sex with infected partners.

Myths

There have a number of myths surrounding HIV and AIDS that have been found to be untrue. We now know that:

• Research studies of people infected with HIV have found no evidence that the virus is spread to others through saliva by kissing.
• Scientists have found no evidence that HIV is spread through sweat, tears, urine, or feces.
• Studies of families of HIV-infected people have shown clearly that HIV is not spread through casual contact such as the sharing of food utensils, towels and bedding, swimming pools, telephones, or toilet seats.
• HIV is not spread by biting insects such as mosquitoes or bedbugs.

HIV Infection

Only one unfortunate exposure to HIV can result in an infection. The early period is usually asymptomatic after the initial flu-like illness (such as fever, headache, tiredness and enlarged lymph nodes) which occurs within the first month or two after the exposure to the virus. During this period, the virus is multiplying-killing off the cells in the immune system and infection can occur. Other symptoms are often experienced months to years before the onset of AIDS.

AIDS

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome is caused by HIV. The Center for Disease Control's definition of AIDS includes all HIV-infected people who have fewer than 200 CD4+ T cells per cubic millimeter of blood. (Healthy adults usually have CD4+ T-cell counts of 1,000 or more.) In addition, the definition includes 26 clinical conditions that affect people with advanced HIV disease.

People with AIDS are particularly prone to developing various cancers, especially those caused by viruses such as Kaposi's sarcoma and cervical cancer, or cancers of the immune system known as lymphomas. These cancers are usually more aggressive and difficult to treat in people with AIDS.

Signs of Kaposi's sarcoma in light-skinned people are round brown, reddish, or purple spots that develop in the skin or in the mouth. In dark-skinned people, the spots are more pigmented.

Diagnosis

The presence of antibodies to HIV in the blood is the first indication that an infection has taken place. HIV antibodies generally do not reach noticeable levels in the blood for 1 to 3 months following infection. It may take the antibodies as long as 6 months to be produced in quantities large enough to appear in standard blood tests.

Confidential and anonymous testing is available at public health centers, STD clinics and at your health care provider's office. Where feasible, HIV screening tests are provided during outreach events.