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Frequently Asked Questions

What is HIV? What is Human Immunodeficiency Virus?

Frequently Asked Questions - Disease Prevention & Epidemiolo...
HIV is the virus that causes AIDS; HIV weakens several body systems and destroys the body's immune system, making it easier for life threatening cancers or opportunistic infections to invade the body.
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What is AIDS? What is Acquired Immunodeficiency Virus?

Frequently Asked Questions - Disease Prevention & Epidemiolo...
AIDS: Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome: AIDS is the late stage of an infection caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, or HIV. AIDS is a complex disease characterized by severe damage to the body's natural immune system. A person with AIDS becomes susceptible to unusual opportunistic diseases and cancers that are not ordinarily a threat to people with normal immune systems.
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Is the virus spreading from human-to-human?

World Health Organization - Indonesia
Limited human-to-human transmission could not be ruled out for some family clusters of bird flu where there was close contact between family members. However, none of these clusters have led to larger outbreaks in the general community indicating that the virus does not spread easily among people.
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How many human cases of West Nile virus were found in 2003?

The city of Millbrae - West Nile Virus FAQ
Last year there were almost 10,000 human cases of WNV detected, including 262 deaths in the United States.
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What specimens can be tested for human papilloma virus (HPV)?

ClearPath Diagnostics - Frequently Asked Questions
ThinPrep Pap specimens and specimens collected with the hc2 DNA Collection Device are approved for testing with Digene Hybrid Capture 2 DNA Assay. ThinPrep Pap specimens must be less than three weeks old. There must also be sufficient quantity remaining after processing the pap smear to perform the HPV testing. Also, tissue specimens (paraffin embedded) can be tested for high and low risk HPV using the in situ hybridization. Tissue specimens are stable indefinitely.
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What are the symptoms of the HIV virus?

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HIV infection most often has no symptoms. Flu-like symptoms often occur four to twelve weeks after infection when seroconversion generally takes place. Symptoms are variable, but include swollen glands in the neck and armpits, fatigue, fever, thrush, night sweats, weight loss, gynocologic disorders (in women) including yeast infections and PID. For more detailed information, go to, Symptoms of HIV.
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How is the HIV virus spread?

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HIV is transmitted through contact with the blood, semen, vaginal secretions or breast milk of an HIV infected person.
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What is Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) Infection?

Links to sites about Bengal cats & kittens and other cat inf...
FIV attacks a cat's immune system, producing a slow-developing immunodeficiency disease that results in chronic secondary and opportunistic infections. These include respiratory, gastrointestinal, urinary tract, and skin infections, and general unthriftiness. Various cancers may also develop. FIV infection is lifelong. However, FIV disease is relatively uncommon and most cats remain normal for extended periods until immunodeficiency occurs.
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Q: Do I need to test the cats for Feline Leukemia (FeLV) or Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV)?

Resource Center. Alley Cat Allies
ACA does not advocate universal testing of feral cats. We base this position on the experiences of large feral cat programs such as Operation Catnip in Florida and North Carolina, which has stopped testing altogether. Results at their clinics indicate: The percentage of feral cats infected with either FeLV or FIV is very low: three to seven percent are infected with FeLV; about two to five percent with FIV. These percentages are about the same as indoor cats.
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Can FIV (feline immunodeficiency virus) be passed from cats to humans?

Cats Protection : Cat Care : FAQs : Health
No. This virus can't be passed from cat to human. It is transmitted between cats via bodily fluids, most commonly by saliva through cat bites and in some cases from mother to kittens. Affected cats have an ineffective immune system and are vulnerable to subsequent infections (eg chest infections). However, some cats infected with the virus may live a a full healthy life. Cats with FIV shoud be kept indoors to reduce the spread of the disease to other cats.
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What is a feline immunodeficiency virus/ feline leukemia virus combo test?

Central Maine Veterinary Hospital - FAQ
The feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and feline leukemia virus (FeLV) are two viral infections that are transmissible from cat to cat. Both diseases are eventually fatal. Although you cat may appear to be healthy, some cats can live upwards of 7 years with out showing any symptoms. It is possible for your cat, if infected, to spread the disease without showing symptoms. To run the test we simply need a few drops of blood and 10 minutes.
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Besides coughing and sneezing, can the virus be spread by human-to-human transmission in other ways?

Pandemic Influenza :: Union Hospital Health Group :: Your Pa...
The influenza virus is primarily spread by airborne droplets, which easily infect your sensitive spots such as your eyes, nose, and mouth. Touching contaminated surfaces and touching your face can spread the influenza virus.
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What if the virus starts to spread from human to human?

Avian Flu Risk, Prevention, and Care -- RealAge
If the H5N1 virus, or any other avian flu virus, develops the ability to spread from one person to another, we may be faced with a flu pandemic. Pandemics occur when new flu viruses emerge because people have no immunity to the disease. In the previous century, there were three flu pandemics: 1918, 1957, and 1968. The 1918 flu pandemic was the most deadly of the three, killing between 50 million and 100 million people worldwide.
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What is the link between the human influenza virus and the avian flu?

Pandemic Qu?bec
The avian influenza virus is different from the human influenza virus; it normally attacks only birds, rarely humans. The World Health Organization (WHO) has emphasized that the current avian and human influenza viruses impose the need for increased vigilance because of the possibility of genetic material being exchanged between the viruses.
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What are the problems that this virus can cause to human health?

The Romanian Ornithological Society - Avian Influenza
Although H5N1 can cause serious problems to human health, it is difficult to be infected with the virus and, until now, there has been no evidence that it can spread from one person to another. The problem would become most critical if the virus were found to be transmitted from human to human. In the past 100 years there were 4 A-type influenza pandemics that resulted in many deaths around the world.
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What is Human Papilloma Virus?

HPV | HPV Vaccine | Cervical Cancer Vaccine | Human Papillom...
Human Papilloma virus one of the most common viral infections transmitted most commonly through sexual contacts. There are more than 90 strains or types of HPV but only some have the capability or predilection to infect the genitals. The overwhelming HPV infections are asymptomatic and pass off quickly once the body develops its immunity against the viruses.
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Ways heterosexual people get the virus....How can someone become infected with HIV?

HIV AIDS Positive Stories - Frequently Asked Questions about...
by injecting drugs using a needle or syringe which has already been used by someone who is infected. HIV can be passed on in both ways because the virus is present in the sexual fluids and blood of infected people. If infected blood or sexual fluid gets into your blood, then you will become infected. Some people have been infected through a transfusion of infected blood. But in most countries all the blood used for transfusions is now tested for HIV.
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If a HIV+ woman became pregnant, would the baby be born with the virus?

HIV AIDS Positive Stories - Frequently Asked Questions about...
Until recently the chance of a positive woman having a positive baby was about 1 in 4. A women thinking about pregnancy with access to new drug treatments can reduce the chances of having an infected baby to almost no risk at all (around 2%). For some women this is still too much of a risk, for other women it is not. Every woman has the right to make her own decision about babies.
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Can Discreet detect the newer strains of the HIV virus?

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We have just introduced our new three-line Discreet AIDS - HIV test to some of our wholesale customers within South America. This is the third generation of the original Discreet AIDS - HIV test. Besides testing for antibodies of HIV1 and HIV2, this new test has an additional line that tests specifically for antibodies of HIV-O.
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Will birth control pills protect me from HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, and other STDs?

Frequently Asked Questions About Birth Control Methods
Some people wrongly believe that if they take birth control pills, they are protecting themselves not only from getting pregnant but also from infection with HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Birth control pills or other types of birth control, such as intrauterine devices (IUDs), Depo-Provera, or tubal ligation will NOT protect you from HIV and other STDs. The male latex condom is the only birth control method that is proven to help protect you from HIV and other STDs.
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What is HIV?

Frequent Questions
HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus. This is the virus that causes AIDS. HIV is different from most other viruses because it attacks the immune system. The immune system gives our bodies the ability to fight infections. HIV finds and destroys a type of white blood cell (T cells or CD4 cells) that the immune system must have to fight disease. For more information view Questions and Answers on HIV/AIDS Science (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
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Cable Positive HIV/AIDS Information
HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is the name of the virus that causes AIDS. Scientists have identified the virus as a "retrovirus," which is a virus in a very specific family of viruses. This virus is passed from one person to another through blood-to-blood and sexual contact. In addition, infected pregnant women can pass HIV to their babies during pregnancy, delivery, or breast-feeding. People with HIV have what is called HIV infection.
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HIV Frequently Asked Questions - Southern Nevada Health Dist...
HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus and it weakens the body's immune system (your defense against infections). It is the virus that causes AIDS. The virus may be passed from one person to another when infected blood, semen, or vaginal secretions come in contact with an uninfected person's broken skin or mucous membranes. (A mucous membrane is wet, thin tissue found in certain openings to the human body, including the mouth, eyes, nose, vagina, rectum, and the opening of the penis.
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Will the human seasonal influenza virus vaccine protect me against bird flu?

New Mexico Avian Infuenza
No, the human influenza vaccine currently available does not protect against bird flu viruses. Clinical trials are underway now for a human vaccine to protect against the "bird flu".
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Can a human get the virus twice?

City of Bedford: West Nile Virus Frequently Asked Questions
We don't think so. It is assumed that a person would develop a natural immunity to future infection by the virus, and that this immunity would be lifelong. However, this immunity may wane in later years. Infections with West Nile Virus may, or may not, produce illness. A few people who get ill may seek medical care. Those with severe enough disease that has the appearance of West Nile and similar viruses may have blood or spinal fluid sampled for testing.
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If I have hepatitis C, can I be co-infected with HIV or hepatitis B virus?

Hepatitis C Web Portal: Frequently Asked Questions
It is possible to be co-infected with HIV or hepatitis B, primarily because these two diseases are spread in the same manner as hepatitis C.
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What would show you that the virus was beginning to transmit from human to human?

CurEvents.com - A Global Current Events Discussion Forum - S...
The usual indication is what we call clusters. This is where groups of people get sick. What we see with the H5N1, the avian flu, is individual cases -- somebody that has been on a chicken farm, someone that has been with chickens that have been dying, has close contact because they look after the birds or they slaughter the birds. They are just solitary cases.
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How can the virus mutate into one that can be passed from human to human?

Documents and Links
Viruses are notorious shape-shifters, able to constantly rearrange their genes and swap genetic material with different strains. Virologists are watching carefully for evidence that the microbe has begun swapping genetic material with a human virus — that’s when it could turn deadly for people. One worrisome sign: This summer there were reports out of Indonesia that the virus was found in pigs, which often act as incubators for human infections.
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