Unprotected sexual intercourse with an infected partner
Through performing or receiving oral sex
Sharing needles or other contaminated injection or skin-piercing equipment
Through blood and blood products, for example, infected transfusions and organ or tissue transplants
Transmission from infected mother to child in the womb or at birth and breast feeding
To help reduce your risk of becoming infected with HIV one should:
Use latex or polyurethane condoms during every act of sex including during oral sex
Use male or female condoms along with your chosen contraceptive
Limit the number of your sex partners
Avoid having sex with partners who have risky behaviors (including other sex partners)
Get tested for HIV with your partner to ensure that you are both uninfected
Avoid using skin-piercing instruments that have not been disinfected
Avoid sharing needles, IV drugs, and drug paraphernalia
Practice universal precautions at all times (for health care workers)
How to Prevent HIV Infection
Speak openly with partners about safer sex techniques and HIV status.
If you don't know your status, get an HIV test to protect yourself and others.
Get tested with your partner as a way of saying "you care and want both of you to stay healthy."
Use a latex condom with each oral, anal or vaginal sexual encounter. Those with latex allergies should use latex-free condoms.
Do not share needles or syringes if you inject drugs. If you do inject drugs, seek professional help to kick your habit.
HIV infected pregnant women should get into regular prenatal, intrapartum and postpartum care.
HIV infected women should not breast feed.
HIV Signs and Symptoms
Often people who are HIV infected have few or no symptoms. Other times, symptoms of HIV are confused with other illnesses such as the flu. If a person were to have symptoms they would include:
Swollen lymph nodes in the neck, groin or under the arms
Diarrhea
Unexplained weight loss
Fatigue
Fever, chills or sweats (especially at night)
Visual changes
Frequent pneumonias or shortness of breath
Rash
Flu-like symptoms
HIV Statistics
For African American men who have sex with men HIV prevalence is estimated
at 55% overall (SFDPH 2001a). Among anonymous testers, prevalence was
9.7% (SFDPHb). Another study found a 29% prevalence (Catina et al 2001).
Collectively, this data suggests that African Americans have the highest
prevalence of any MSM population.
The HIV/AIDS infection rate among Black men is 6 times that of white
men and the rate among Black women is 16 times that of white women
The number of men with AIDS per 100,000 population includes: