December 1st is recognised internationally as World AIDS Day. It is the culmination of AIDS Awareness Week, which begins each year on November 24.
The aim of both events is to raise community awareness throughout Australia about HIV and AIDS issues, including the need for support for and understanding of people with HIV/AIDS, and the need for ongoing education and prevention initiatives.
The theme for the 2007 Australian World AIDS Day campaign is: HIV/AIDS: Prevention is everybody’s business. The theme was chosen to remind people that HIV/AIDS remains a serious disease for which there is still no cure, and that awareness and prevention remain the best defences against its spread.
The campaign aims to increase knowledge about the impact of HIV/AIDS on the Australian population. It is a health issue that affects the entire community and so we all need to take responsibility for prevention strategies.
The world AIDS Day campaign also aims to inform people about the important care and support services that are available for people affected by HIV, and to emphasise that people with HIV/AIDS need encouragement, understanding and acceptance.
HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus. It is primarily transmitted in blood, semen and vaginal fluids via unprotected sex or sharing injecting equipment. HIV belongs to a group of viruses called retroviruses known for their capacity to copy their genetic blueprint onto the genes of the host person’s cells. HIV is the virus that can cause AIDS.
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is not a single disease. It is a broad range of conditions that occur when a person’s immune system is seriously damaged after years of attack by HIV. The terms HIV and AIDS are not interchangeable. It is important to remember that a person who is infected with HIV does not necessarily have AIDS. However, all people with AIDS have HIV.
HIV damages the body’s immune system and renders the body vulnerable to other diseases and infections – its symptoms are most commonly similar to those of any chronic viral infection. During advanced stages of HIV infection, a person may develop any of a number of so-called opportunistic infections considered to be AIDS defining illnesses.
The ability of HIV to live outside the body is very limited and, therefore, HIV is not particularly easy to transmit. It is a communicable disease, but it is not contagious like air-borne viruses such as influenza. HIV cannot be transmitted by hugging, shaking hands, coughing or sneezing. Nor can it be transmitted by sharing glasses, cups or utensils.
There are three main modes of HIV transmission: unprotected anal and vaginal sexual intercourse; sharing drug injecting equipment; mother to child during pregnancy, birth or breast feeding.
Exposure to HIV contaminated blood is another potential route of transmission. Injecting drug users who share needles and syringes are at risk of HIV infection because there is often a small amount of blood left in the syringe after injection. This type of exposure can also occur during skin piercing and tattooing procedures if equipment has not been properly sterilised after having previously being used on someone with HIV. Body piercing or tattooing should always be undertaken at licensed studios that use new ink pots for each procedure and disposable needles or an autoclave to sterilise equipment.
Worldwide, HIV infection has progressed to generalised epidemics, occurring mainly through unprotected heterosexual contact. However, transmission in Australia continues to be mainly through unprotected sex between gay and other homosexually active men.
HIV/AIDS is still a major concern in Australia. Up until the end of last year, 26,000 people had been diagnosed with HIV, there had been 10,000 diagnoses of AIDS and 7,000 deaths as a result of AIDS had occurred. There are currently no vaccines available for HIV or AIDS and the treatments help with the symptoms of HIV and AIDS but do not cure them.
For more information about HIV and AIDS ask for the HIV/AIDS Fact Card available at all pharmacies providing the Pharmaceutical Society’s Self Care health information. Phone 1300 369 772 for the nearest location.
