What is HIV?
Human Immunodeficiency Virus.
- Attacks the immune system making it harder to fight infections.
- Many people will feel fine for years despite being HIV positive.
What is AIDS?
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
- With time HIV attacks more and more of the immune system making the patient more susceptible infections.
- Doctors will give an AIDS diagnosis based upon CD4 (white blood cells) count and the number of opportunistic infections.
What are the symptoms of HIV?
After being infected with HIV/AIDS, most people have no symptoms although a few will experience flu-like symptoms for 2-6 weeks.
Individuals may remain symptom free for 8 or 9 years! Once the virus begins attacking your body's white blood cells, and the immune system becomes weaker, chronic symptoms begin to appear such as:
- Swollen lymph nodes: often one of the first signs of HIV infection
- Diarrhea
- Weight loss
- Fever
- Cough and shortness of breath
As HIV progresses to later stages and develops into AIDS, the symptoms above become more persistent and severe, and a few others develop such as:
- Shaking chills/fever
- Memory loss
- White spots/lesions on the tongue/mouth
- Blurred vision
- Extreme fatigue
How is HIV spread?
The virus is transmitted through unprotected sexual contact, sharing needles, and from an infected mother to child during pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding.
The most common way of transmission in Belize is through heterosexual intercourse.
HIV is not an air-borne, water-borne, or food-borne virus. It cannot be spread by mosquito bites, shaking hands, or using toilets.
How can I protect myself against HIV/AIDS?
- The best form of prevention and only 100% effective form of protection is abstinence.
- Be faithful to one partner or have fewer partners. Make sure your partner is faithful and also not infected.
- Quality-assured male and female condoms are the only products currently available to protect against sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV. When used properly during every sexual intercourse, there is less than 2% chance of becoming infected with HIV when having sex with an infected person.
Who can get HIV?
HIV does not discriminate. It can affect anyone, of any race, age, gender, and ethnicity, regardless of sexual preference. Some behavior, such as having sex without condoms, having multiple sex partners, having sex partners who have sex with other persons without using condoms, and sharing un-sterilized needles for intravenous drug use, increases the risk of being infected.
The highest rate of infection in Belize is in the 15-24 year old age group.
How can I tell if someone has HIV or AIDS?
You cannot tell by looking at someone, talking to someone, or having sex with someone if they are infected with HIV. People can live many years without even knowing themselves that they are infected. The only way to know if someone has HIV or AIDS is after being tested.
What do I do if I may have HIV or AIDS?
- Get tested. It is best to know if you have HIV so you can be extra careful not to spread it to others.
- Get informed. Learn about what causes AIDS and how to get help. Also find out how you can prevent the spread of HIV.
- Get Treated. Medications are available to help lengthen life and improve the quality of life for people with AIDS. Anti-retroViral(ARVs) medications are available to prevent the spread of HIV to an unborn child. Pre and post counseling are also available at the San Ignacio Hospital from Nurse Tennyson and Nurse Dacak.
(Source: Caribbean Epidemiology Centre (CAREC)/PAHO/WHO)