When I think about HIV and AIDS, the public figures I think about more than any others are Freddy Mercury and Magic Johnson. Their stories show how just a few years can make a huge difference in our knowledge and understanding of a disease process. Freddy learned he was HIV positive in 1987. He converted to full blown AIDS, and in 1991, he died. That same year, 1991, Magic Johnson was diagnosed with HIV. 30 years later, Magic is still with us—still healthy and active, he’s just HIV positive, and has not converted to AIDS.
HIV/AIDS over the last 30 plus years really shows how we can make a difference with awareness. When COVID first arrived, it reminded me so much of how things were in health care with HIV at the start of my career. Testing was hard to get at first, we weren’t 100% sure of what PPE to use in the hospital, so we used everything we had, the public health movements were politicized, and victims were ostracized. That is rarely the case with HIV any longer, and COVID is getting better too, but we’re still not completely there yet.
Awareness is several things. First, it’s knowing how HIV is transmitted and avoiding those potential sources of infection. HIV is transmitted through blood and body fluids. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) the most common routes of HIV infection are anal or vaginal sex, or sharing needles, syringes, or other drug injection equipment (e.g. cookers). HIV can also be transmitted from a mother to her baby during pregnancy, birth, or breastfeeding, but this has gotten to be much rarer because the treatments have gotten so much better. Right now, the risk of transmission from a mother to her baby is less than 1%. Very rare cases of HIV transmission have been seen with oral sex, workplace injuries such as a health care working receiving an accidental needlestick, medical care with receiving blood, organs or tissues, pre-chewing food for infants, biting, deep open-mouthed kissing where there is blood contamination, female to female transmission, and tattoos and body piercings.
HIV is not transmitted by mosquitos, ticks, or other insects. It is not transmitted through saliva, tears, or sweat. You cannot get HIV by hugging, shaking hands, sharing toilets, sharing dishes, or closed mouth kissing with someone who is HIV positive. HIV is not transmitted through sexual activities that do not involve the exchange of body fluids (e.g. petting). HIV is not airborne or transmitted on surfaces, and it cannot reproduce outside a human host.
The second part of awareness with HIV/AIDS is testing. The CDC recommends that everyone who is between 13 and 64 get tested for HIV at least once. The CDC recommends annual or more frequent testing for anyone who answers yes to any of the following questions: Are you a man in a non-monogamous relationship with another man? Have you had sex-anal or vaginal-with a partner who has HIV? Have you had more than one sex partner since your last HIV test? Have you injected drugs and shared needles, syringes, or other drug injection equipment? Have you exchanged sex for drugs or money? Have you been diagnosed or treated for another sexually transmitted disease? Have you had sex with someone who could answer yes to any of the above questions, or someone whose sexual history you do not know? Please discuss your testing options with your primary healthcare provider, especially if you did answer yes to any of those questions.
Awareness makes sure we know how HIV/AIDS is transmitted, and we know who has HIV/AIDS with testing. When we know those things, we can literally stop HIV/AIDS with preventative measures. Because we have such good treatments now to keep HIV under control and not allowing it to convert to AIDS, testing also gives those with HIV the best possible opportunity to be like Magic Johnson and live for decades even though they are HIV positive.
