HIV is spread through sex, needles and syringes, being born to a mother with HIV, blood transfusions, eating food already chewed by someone with HIV, and being bitten and having your skin broken by a person with HIV, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
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Meanwhile, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) has emphasized that expanding antiretroviral therapy to all people living with HIV is key to ending the AIDS epidemic within a generation.
Robinson says: “World AIDS Day is as important now as it has ever been, but for new reasons”.
It says World AIDS Day and the month of December is a great opportunity to educate people about HIV/AIDS and debunk some of the common misconceptions with the viruses.
Michel Sidib, Executive Director the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) said in his messagethat countries are implementing the agencys Fast-Track Strategy, and together with front-loaded investments we can expect to close the gaps to essential services faster. “We don’t need a celebrity to come out with HIV status for us to be talking about HIV and AIDS”, said Mark Hall. And more than 35 million people have died of HIV or Aids, making it one of the most destructive global outbreak diseases in history. But HIV today is a threat to men, women and children on all continents around the world.
You can get HIV from someone who has an undetectable viral load, according to the CDC.
“I’m open about it at work and I’m open about it to my friends”, said Christopher Hetzer, who tested HIV-positive a year ago.
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You can not get HIV through shaking hands, hugging, casual kisses, toilet seats, drinking fountains, dishes, food, cigarettes, pets or insects, including mosquitoes. “Once a person is diagnosed with HIV, he/she will be provided with a holistic care to ensure their immunity is preserved and that their condition does not deteriorate into AIDS thus avoiding opportunistic infections and other complications”, explained Dr al-Khal. AIDS stands for acquired immune deficiency syndrome. “But they can always make use of the PEP drug available at the GRH even if they are from private hospitals”, he said.
