An infected pregnant woman can transmit HIV on to her unborn baby either before or during birth. HIV can also be passed on during breastfeeding. If a woman knows that she is infected with HIV, there are drugs that she can take to greatly reduce the chances of her child becoming infected, as well as other options such as choosing to have a caesarean section delivery and not breastfeeding, as HIV is found in breast milk.

It is impossible to get HIV infection or develop AIDS from experimental vaccines. They are not made from live HIV, killed HIV, weakened HIV, or HIV-infected cells. The investigational vaccine in this trial cannot cause HIV infection.

No. The only way to protect yourself from HIV/AIDS is to avoid risky behaviors. There is no medication that prevents HIV infection or can take away HIV when it is in someone's body.

There are several teams of scientists working on vaccines in different parts of the world. The results of some of the studies, including the South African Antiretroviral Vaccine Initiative (SAARVI) are very promising but it will be several years before a vaccine is likely to be available.

There is no evidence to show that mosquitoes transmit HIV. Epidemiologically, the incidence of HIV infection is the highest among the sexually active group of 15 years to 40 years. However, mosquitoes bite persons of all age groups and if they were a means of spreading HIV, the incidence of infection would be uniformly high and among all age groups.

No. Although this is a common fear, there is no evidence to support the theory that mosquitoes can transmit the Human-Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Studies by the US Centres for Disease Control and others can find no evidence that mosquitoes, or any other blood-sucking insect, can transmit HIV. In countries where both high HIV prevalence and high malaria rates exist, such as Uganda, HIV mainly affects the sexually active population.

Blood, semen, vaginal fluid, breastmilk, and other body fluids containing blood taken from HIV-positive people can contain high concentrations of HIV. The virus also might be present in the fluid surrounding the brain and the spinal cord, fluid surrounding bone joints and fluid surrounding a fetus of an HIV-positive pregnant woman. HIV has been found in the saliva and tears of some HIV-positive people but in very low quantities.

Yes. A pregnant woman can pass HIV/AIDS to her baby before or during birth. Also a mother can pass HIV/AIDS on to her baby through breast-feeding. About one out of four babies get HIV/AIDS from their mothers. The drug zidovudine (also known as AZT) is given to pregnant women with HIV/AIDS to lower their chances of passing the infection to their babies. Doctors say that all pregnant women should be tested for HIV/AIDS.

According to the CDC, prior to 1996, scientists estimated that about half the people with HIV would develop AIDS within 10 years after becoming infected. This time varied greatly from person to person and depended on many factors, including a person's health status and their health-related behaviors. Since 1996, the introduction of powerful anti-retroviral therapies has dramatically changed the progression time between HIV infection and the development of AIDS.

NO! There are many vaccines now in clinical study, however at this time, none have been tested on humans and it may be years before a viable vaccine is possible.

The vaccines we are testing do not contain any whole, live, killed or weakened HIV. Instead, these vaccines use man-made imitations of pieces of the virus. Think of it like plastic flowers -- they're man-made imitations too. And could never cause seasonal allergies. Hopefully, the fake parts look enough like the actual virus to activate the immune system, but they are not the real thing and they can never cause HIV infection.

Mosquitoes or other sucking and biting insects do not transmit HIV. For a mosquito to infect someone, it would have to bite a person who was infected. Then, it would have to both immediately travel to someone else and infect that person from tiny drops of infected blood left on the sucker, or it would have to process the virus in its saliva and inject it into the next person. Mosquitoes do neither of these things. They do not travel from person to person.

Yes, if the injecting equipment is contaminated with blood containing HIV. Avoid injections unless absolutely necessary. If you must have an injection, make sure the needle and syringe come straight from a sterile package or have been sterilised properly; a needle and syringe that has been cleaned and then boiled for 20 minutes is ready for reuse. Finally, if you inject drugs of whatever kind, never use anyone else's injecting equipment.

HIV is transmitted through blood, semen, pre-semen (pre-ejaculate), vaginal fluids, and breast milk. These fluids need to enter the bloodstream. Saliva is not generally considered risky, but cuts, sores, or blisters in the mouth increase the likelihood of transmission (i.e., HIV infection). Other bodily fluids such as sweat, tears, or urine are not risky.