2008 Woodie Awards
HIV information for students
By: Katie Martin
Issue date: 2/27/08 Section: News
College students are among the high-risk population in danger of being infected with HIV due to high sexual activity levels.
HIV is human immunodeficiency virus that causes acquired immune deficiency syndrome and can be transmitted in blood, semen, vaginal fluids and breast milk.
More than 980,000 cases of AIDS have been reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to Planned Parenthood. About 40,000 women and men in the U.S. get HIV each year.
The CDC estimates that as many as one in three people with HIV don't know they are infected and testing is the only way to tell.
The most common ways to spread HIV is through unprotected sexual intercourse with someone who has the virus, sharing needles or syringes with an infected person, being deeply punctured with a needle or surgical instrument that has been contaminated by the virus or getting HIV-infected blood, semen, or vaginal secretions into open wounds or sores.
"Many people get tested if they have had a risk factor for HIV exposure, such as unsafe sex, multiple partners, anal intercourse, IV drug use, tattoos, blood transfusions, or occupational blood exposure," said Dr. Bruce Wilbur, director of the California State University, Stanislaus Health Center.
"Some people without significant risk factors get tested for closure after a relationship has ended or when entering into a new relationship. There can be a window period of four to six months during which the body is developing antibodies to HIV. A person with a recent potential exposure should get tested and then retest about six months after the potential exposure. No need to get retested every 6 months unless there is an ongoing potential exposure or a new risk factor," Wilbur said.
To prevent HIV infection, the first step to consider is to talk about risk with a potential sexual partner. It might be uncomfortable to ask, but it is important to know if a potential partner has been recently tested or has risk factors for HIV infection. Condoms can reduce body fluid exposure and HIV risk, but they need to be used correctly and aren't perfect.
HIV is human immunodeficiency virus that causes acquired immune deficiency syndrome and can be transmitted in blood, semen, vaginal fluids and breast milk.
More than 980,000 cases of AIDS have been reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to Planned Parenthood. About 40,000 women and men in the U.S. get HIV each year.
The CDC estimates that as many as one in three people with HIV don't know they are infected and testing is the only way to tell.
The most common ways to spread HIV is through unprotected sexual intercourse with someone who has the virus, sharing needles or syringes with an infected person, being deeply punctured with a needle or surgical instrument that has been contaminated by the virus or getting HIV-infected blood, semen, or vaginal secretions into open wounds or sores.
"Many people get tested if they have had a risk factor for HIV exposure, such as unsafe sex, multiple partners, anal intercourse, IV drug use, tattoos, blood transfusions, or occupational blood exposure," said Dr. Bruce Wilbur, director of the California State University, Stanislaus Health Center.
"Some people without significant risk factors get tested for closure after a relationship has ended or when entering into a new relationship. There can be a window period of four to six months during which the body is developing antibodies to HIV. A person with a recent potential exposure should get tested and then retest about six months after the potential exposure. No need to get retested every 6 months unless there is an ongoing potential exposure or a new risk factor," Wilbur said.
To prevent HIV infection, the first step to consider is to talk about risk with a potential sexual partner. It might be uncomfortable to ask, but it is important to know if a potential partner has been recently tested or has risk factors for HIV infection. Condoms can reduce body fluid exposure and HIV risk, but they need to be used correctly and aren't perfect.
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