If either of the partners is infected, consider other activities such as kissing or embracing instead of penetrative sex. If this is not possible, use a condom continuously throughout sexual intercourse and consistently each time you have sexual intercourse.

A blood test can determine whether or not a person is infected with HIV. The most commonly used test detects antibodies (disease-fighting proteins) against HIV. It may take as long as three to six months for HIV antibodies to reach levels that are measurable in standard blood tests.

The surest way is to abstain from unprotected sexual behaviors and totally avoid sharing needles of any kind. When engaging in sexual behaviors always practice safer sex to reduce the risk of exchanging blood semen or vaginal fluids with your sex partner. Never use petroleum based lubricants since they can cause latex condoms or dental dams to deteriorate and tear. You should never share needles works cookers cotton water or any other paraphernalia used to inject drugs.

Studies of families of HIV-infected people have found that HIV is not spread through sharing utensils, towels, bedding, or toilet facilities. Behaviors that increase the likelihood of contact with blood from an HIV-infected person, such as sharing a razor or toothbrush, should be avoided.

No. Your HIV test results reveals only your HIV status. Your negative test result does not indicate whether or not your partner has HIV. HIV is not necessarily transmitted every time there is an exposure. Therefore, you taking an HIV test should not be seen as a method to find out if your partner is infected.

Using such facilities does not put a person at risk for HIV infection. Only activities that cause intimate contact with blood, vaginal secretions, semen, pre-ejaculation fluid, or breast milk of an HIV-infected person can transmit HIV.

The human immune virus (HIV) can only be transmitted when the virus comes in contact with the blood cells. These are the main ways in which HIV can be transmitted: Injection or transfusion of contaminated blood or blood products, donations of semen (artificial insemination), skin grafts and organ transplants taken from someone who is infected. From a mother who is infected to her baby; this may be during the course of pregnancy, at birth and through breast-feeding.

Simply kissing someone is usually not conducive to the transmission of HIV. There has to be a very high rate of exchange of saliva to be detrimental to your health unless there are ulcers or the mouths membrane has been broken allowing for the exposure of an open sore to the bodily fluids of another person.

Globally, 45 percent of adults living with HIV/AIDS are women. By region, this percentage varies considerably, from 57% in Sub-Saharan Africa, to 28% in East Asia and the Pacific. In 2004, 17.6 million women were living with HIV/AIDS worldwide.

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. If a man with HIV has vaginal intercourse without a condom, infected fluid could pass into the woman's blood stream through a tiny cut or sore inside her body. This can be so small that you don't know about it.

Infection with HIV in this way is rare. There have only been a couple of documented cases of HIV transmission resulting from biting. In these particular cases, severe tissue tearing and damage were reported in addition to the presence of blood. REF: HOW AIDS CAN BE TRANSMITTED

The only way to tell you have HIV is be tested for the virus. You cannot rely on symptoms to tell if you or someone you know is infected. The symptoms of HIV are similar to many other illnesses and many people have no symptoms at all. The symptoms of AIDS are also similar to other diseases. If a person is infected with HIV, the only way to tell if they have progressed to AIDS is to be diagnosed by a doctor using the CDC defined criteria.

People infected with HIV may take 7-10 years to develop AIDS. In developing countries like India, the progression to AIDS may be sooner because of malnutrition and a poorer state of health.

Answer: This depends on the mode of the HIV transmission and the lifestyle of the HIV positive person. Majority of persons who are infected through blood transfusion develop symptoms on an average from 3 years to 5 years. With the other modes of transmission when the quantum of the virus is low, the person can remain healthy for 8 to 12 years or longer.

A person living with HIV (medically known as an HIV positive person) is one who has virus in his/her body. Such a person, remains infected and is presumed infective for the rest of his/her life. However, s/he will appear to be perfectly normal and healthy and asymptomatic for many years. An asymptomatic HIV infected person does not have Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS).

Even if your sex partner doesn't have any symptoms, she or he could still be infected with bacteria that can cause PID. Protect yourself from being re-infected with PID.

The Human Immuno Deficiency Virus is more than one type. You and your partner have very different immune systems and you cannot assume you both have exactly the same type of HIV virus. It is possible to get infected with an HIV strain that is more aggressive than the one you have, or with one that might be resistant to the medicines you are currently taking. Either way, becoming "super infected" could indeed have a negative effect on your health.

The tendency of AIDS to be contacted via kissing is relatively low, however the tendency of getting infected might increase greatly if one of the persons has soar (wounds) in the mouth, soars might be sometimes very small and perhaps unnoticed. Ever since 1981(when aids first broke out) there has been only one documented case of HIV transmitted through kissing. REF: HOW AIDS CAN BE TRANSMITTED HIV and STD has a close relationship since HIV causes AIDS which is an STD.

Condoms have not been proven to be 100% effective in protecting against HIV transmission, though the chance of transmission is significantly reduced in comparison to unprotected sex. Condoms do help prevent contact with the majority of bodily fluids, but they are not fail proof.

Using a condom during sex is a must. Being aware of the risks is important. By making sensible, informed decisions about how we engage in sexual activity we can best avoid infection. It's important here to note that an HIV infected person may not know that they are infected or may look perfectly healthy. Once infected it can takes up to 3 months for any signs to show and by that stage the infected person may have had unsafe sex with many people.

In 2004, 640,000 children under 15 were newly infected with HIV, bringing the total number of children living with HIV to 2.2 million. About half of all new adult HIV infections occur among 15-24 year olds. Learn more about USAID's efforts to prevent HIV in children and young people:

Research suggests the risk of HIV infection in this way is extremely low. A very small number of people -usually in a healthcare setting- have become infected with HIV as a result of blood splashes in the eye. REF: TRANSMISSION OF AIDS AMONG HEALTH WORKERS

You can have a free HIV test at one of our Public Health Clinics in Chico or Oroville, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The test is quick, painless. Call for more information at (530) 538-6220 / 1-877-783-4636.

Being infected with HIV does not necessarily mean you have AIDS. It does mean you will carry the virus in your body for the rest of your life. It also means you can infect other people if you do things - such as have unprotected sex - that can transmit HIV. You can infect others even if you feel fine and have no symptoms of illness. Perhaps more importantly, you can infect others when you don't know you carry HIV.

Only with a blood test. A person can be HIV infected for many years while looking and feeling healthy, with no signs at all of being sick.

No. From the start of the HIV epidemic there has been concern about HIV transmission of the virus by biting and bloodsucking insects, such as mosquitoes. However, studies have shown no evidence of HIV transmission through mosquitoes or any other insects—even in areas where there are many cases of AIDS and large populations of mosquitoes. Lack of such outbreaks, despite intense efforts to detect them, supports the conclusion that HIV is not transmitted by insects.

Answer: A person living with HIV (medically known as an HIV positive person) is one who has virus in his/her body. Such a person, remains infected and is presumed infective for the rest of his/her life. However, s/he will appear to be perfectly normal and healthy and asymptomatic for many years. An asymptomatic HIV infected person does not have Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS).

No. HIV is an unusual virus because a person can be infected with it for many years and yet appears to be perfectly healthy. But the virus gradually multiplies inside the body and eventually destroys the body's ability to fight off illnesses. It is still not certain that everyone with HIV infection will get AIDS. It seems likely that most people with HIV will develop serious problems with their health. But this may be after many years.