New Hope for Stopping HIV

 

Too many people don't know they have HIV (human immunodeficiency virus). About 1.2 million people are living with HIV in the US but about 240,000 don't know they are infected. Each year, about 50,000 people get infected with HIV in the US. Getting an HIV test is the first step to finding out if you have HIV and getting medical care. Without medical care, HIV leads to AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) and early death.

There's new hope today for stopping HIV in the US. Medicines (antiretroviral therapy or ART) can lower the level of virus in the body. ART helps people with HIV live longer, healthier lives and also lowers the chances of passing HIV on to others. However, only 28% are getting the care they need to manage the disease and keep the virus under control. To help stop HIV, get tested. If you have HIV, get medical care and work with your health care provider to control the virus and not pass it on to others.

Learn what you can do to prevent HIV through testing and medical care.

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Problem

 

Many people don't know they have HIV or take all the actions to control it.

Testing: More people need to be tested for HIV.

•1.2 million people are living with HIV in the US.

•Nearly 1 in 5 people (about 240,000) don't know they are infected.

•Getting an HIV test can lead to getting the medical care needed to stay healthy longer.

•People who don't know they have HIV have a higher risk of serious medical problems and early death.

•People who don't know they have HIV can also pass the virus on to others without knowing it.

•Youth and adults should get tested to learn their HIV status.

•People who are at greater risk for infection (have more than one sex partner, inject drugs, or are men who have sex with other men) should get tested once a year or more often.

Treating: Many people with HIV do not receive the medical care they need.

•Lowering the amount of virus in the body can keep a person with HIV healthy longer.

•Keeping the virus under control with medicines greatly lowers the chances of passing HIV on to others.

•Only 28% of all people with HIV know they are infected, get regular medical care, take ART and have the HIV virus under control.

•The number of people with HIV who get AIDS has decreased over time because of advances in medical care and ART.  Still, more than 16,000 people with AIDS die each year.

•Public health professionals and health care providers should help people with HIV make sure to get regular HIV medical care and take their medicines.

 

Prevention Counseling: Only 45% of people with HIV getting medical care received prevention counseling from their health care providers in the past year.

•Prevention counseling teaches patients how to stay as healthy as possible and prevent passing HIV on to others.  Prevention services include STD testing and treatment services, drug rehab, assistance in notifying partners, housing assistance, financial assistance and other services.

•People with HIV should get prevention counseling and services as a part of regular HIV care.

•People with HIV whose virus is controlled still need prevention counseling and prevention services regularly. 

 

1.2 million people are living with HIV

Everyone can:

•Lower risky sexual behavior by not having sex, having sex with only one partner who you know is uninfected, or using a condom every time you have anal, vaginal, or oral sex.

•Ask your doctor for an HIV test.

•Get medical care as soon as possible if you have HIV, to stay healthier longer and to keep from passing the virus on to others.

•Get tested if you live in a community where HIV is more common.

•Get tested once a year or more often if you have more than one sex partner, inject drugs or are a man who has sex with other men.

US Government can:

 •Develop guidelines for health care providers on testing and medical care.

•Educate health care providers and the public about the importance of HIV testing and medical care.

•Fund programs that support effective HIV prevention services and medical care.

•Identify and track differences in medical care, illness and death across different groups of people.

•Help meet the goals of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, including getting all people with HIV into care.

 

State and local health departments can:

 •Fund programs that support effective HIV prevention services and medical care.

•Create programs and policies to test people at risk for HIV early and often.

•Provide information about where people can get an HIV test

•Educate people about the benefits of HIV testing, regular care, and treatment.

•Get people who have HIV infection connected to HIV medical care.

•Promote HIV prevention counseling and services as a regular part of care.

•Support community actions to prevent new HIV infections and help people with HIV.

•Help meet the goals of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, including getting all people with HIV into care.

 

Health care providers can:

 •Offer their patients an HIV test as a regular part of medical care.

•Offer their patients STD testing and treatment services.

•Prescribe ART as needed for patients with HIV and make sure the amount of virus is as low as possible.

•Make sure people with HIV continue getting HIV medical care.

•Provide HIV prevention counseling to patients on how to protect their health and avoid passing the virus on to others; refer to other prevention services (for example, partner counseling) as needed.

 

pronurse, I agree with you.. thank you for following and posting on the forum.. Teresa

Can HIV-Positive People Have Babies? Myths About Pregnancy and HIV/AIDS

If you thought the answer to the question in this headline was "No," have we got news for you!

Some background: HIV treatment is more effective than ever -- and can deliver not only near-normal life spans, but also a radical drop in the likelihood of passing the virus to an intimate partner, if taken as directed. These factors and others have contributed to a veritable baby boom among people living with HIV. Doubtful? Don't let ancient medical reports and ignorance be your guides! Read on to learn more.

 

HIV-positive women safely having babies? Impossible!


This may be one of the saddest myths about HIV to persist to the present day. With rigorous prenatal care and treatment by knowledgeable providers, the chance that a mom living with HIV will transmit the virus to her baby is less than 2 percent. What seemed like a miracle at the dawn of the HIV epidemic is on its way to becoming a worldwide reality. Meanwhile, effective, tolerable HIV meds can make it possible for parents to watch their children grow into adulthood and beyond.


Many people who are not living with or otherwise affected by HIV may not be aware of this phenomenal news, so you can be the first to tell your friends: A woman can have a healthy pregnancy if she's HIV positive.

OK, so it works for moms, but HIV-positive men definitely can't be biological fathers.


Wrong again! Knowledge and treatment of HIV have made it increasingly possible for men living with HIV to safely father biological children. Several techniques and options are available to assist HIV-negative women in having babies with HIV-positive men. Recently, the FDA even approved a prophylactic pill that, with the guidance of an HIV expert physician, may protect an HIV-negative mom-to-be while she and her positive babydaddy attempt to conceive more naturally. With sperm washing, surrogacy and reproductive technologies, gay prospective dads with HIV can join the revolution too!

Pregnant women are eating for two.

Now that's a myth that transcends HIV status. A pregnant woman's daily calorie needs will increase with each trimester of her pregnancy -- but this does not mean that women ought to eat two full, adult-sized breakfasts, lunches and dinners every day they're pregnant!