Call the California HIV/AIDS Hotline at 800/367-AIDS (English/Spanish). TDD: 888/225-AIDS. For more information about the hotline, click here.

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.

HIV (Human Immunodeficiency ["im-you-no-de-fish-en-see"] Virus -- is the virus that causes AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome). HIV attacks and kills the cells in our bodies that keep us from getting diseases. This makes people with HIV get illnesses that healthy people do not get. When a person with HIV gets very sick from pneumonia, some kinds of cancer, and other life-threatening diseases, they are said to have AIDS. AIDS is a fatal disease. Here is more information on HIV/AIDS.

Answer: No, not necessarily. Not everyone will have symptoms of an STD even though they are infected. A partner can pass a disease to another without ever knowing s/he has had something. You, the unfortunate current partner, may be the one that actually ends up with symptoms. You may also have received your STD from a previous partner years ago and are just now seeing the signs of the disease.

If the STD infection causes irritation of the skin, breaks or sores may make it easier for HIV to enter the body during sexual contact. Even when the STD causes no breaks or open sores, the infection can stimulate an immune response in the genital area that can make HIV transmission more likely. Additionally, if an HIV-infected person is also infected with another STD, that person is three to five times more likely than other HIV-infected persons to transmit HIV through sexual contact.

Several STDs other than HIV/AIDs (Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) are quite serious. Diseases like syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia can have long-term consequences, including pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), which can lead to sterility and chronic pelvic pain. Human papilloma virus (HPV), the virus that causes genital warts, is strongly linked to the development of cervical cancer.

Since 1992, scientists have estimated that about half the people with HIV develop AIDS within 10 years after becoming infected. This time varies greatly from person to person and can depend on many factors, including a person's health status and their health-related behaviors. Today there are medical treatments that can slow down the rate at which HIV weakens the immune system.

Testing for STD, HIV and Hepatitis is available Monday through Friday by appointment at the STD Clinic on the fifth floor of the City County Building, 1 E. Main St. Testing for HIV and Hepatitis is are also available at various public locations and can be found by clicking here.

Answer: No. Each STD, including HIV, has its own test. Talk to your provider to make sure you're getting the test you need.

First, University Health Services (UHS) in Ritenour Building offer Confidential Testing and Counseling. This service is also offered by the center three times during the course of the academic year. Finally, the AIDS Project in downtown State College, PA offers Anonymous testing and counseling. Please note that confidential does not mean anonymous. Testing done through UHS is confidential and results are kept in your personal file.

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.

of 2003, approximately 15 million children have lost one or both parents due to HIV/AIDS. By 2010, this number is expected to increase to 25 million. Learn more about USAID's efforts to improve the lives of children affected by HIV/AIDS.

HIV destroys a certain kind of blood cell (CD4+ T cells) which is crucial to the normal function of the human immune system. In fact, loss of these cells in people with HIV is an extremely powerful predictor of the development of AIDS. Studies of thousands of people have revealed that most people infected with HIV carry the virus for years before enough damage is done to the immune system for AIDS to develop.

I - Immuno-deficiency: because the effect of the virus is to create a deficiency, a failure to work properly, within the body's immune system. V - Virus: because this organism is a virus, which means one of its characteristics is that it is incapable of reproducing by itself. It reproduces by taking over the machinery of the human cell.

Although there have been many advances in HIV treatments and therapies in recent years that have dramatically improved the quality of life and life expectancy of persons with HIV/AIDS in the US and other developed countries, there is, as of yet, no cure.

HIV/AIDS is treated with two groups of medicines. One group of medicines is used to slow the spread of the virus. The other group of medicines is used to fight illnesses that are caused by a weakened immune system. These medicines cannot cure HIV/AIDS, but they do help people live a healthier life for a longer period of time than if they did not take any medicine. Finding and treating HIV/AIDS early is the best way to take care of yourself.

HIV/AIDS cannot be cured. That is why it is so important to keep from getting it in the first place. Here are ways to keep from getting HIV/AIDS. ask your sex partner(s) if he or she has HIV/AIDS or other STDs, has had sex with someone who had HIV/AIDS or other STDs, or has sores, rashes, or discharge in the genital area. Do not share razors or anything that might touch blood, semen, or vaginal fluids of an infected person.

HIV is a very delicate virus and does not last long outside of the body. Nor is it spread through casual contact. Generally, the virus is transmitted when sufficient quantities of blood are introduced into the body of another. The structure of a tattoo needle does not lend itself to HIV transmission. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) there has never been a case of HIV transmission from tattooing in the United States.

According to the CDC, in 2000, an estimated 850,000-950,000 people in the United States were living with HIV and approximately one fourth of these people did not know they were infected. The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) estimates that there are 42 million people in the world living with HIV and 3.2 million of those are children under the age of 15. Over half of all adults living with HIV/AIDS are women. In 2002, approximately 5 million people were newly infected with HIV.

Answer: The objective of AIDS awareness programmes is to create awareness about the problem, to give accurate and reliable information about HIV/AIDS, to clear existing myths and misconceptions, and to provide practical skills that can be implemented at the individual's level so as to lead to behaviour change that minimize the risk of HIV infection.

Answer: Almost all opportunistic infections a person with AIDS develops can be treated with appropriate drugs. Eg. TB, thrush, diarrhoea, pneumonia can all be treated. They can also be prevented by drugs - chemoprophylaxis. When it comes to treatment of HIV itself, there are many antiretroviral drugs available. These should be given in combinations of 2 or 3 drugs for lifetime of the patient.