HIV is a virus that attacks the immune system, which is the system that fights infection in your body. People with HIV usually don’t have any signs that they are sick until their immune system can’t fight off infection anymore. When the person comes to this point, they are said to have AIDS. They can get sick and possibly die from things other people would be able to recover from (like the flu, diarrhoea, and cancers that most people can easily beat, etc). So basically, HIV is when the person can get better from sicknesses, and it is called AIDS when the person can’t get better anymore.

HIV is a virus that either someone has or doesn’t have. If someone has HIV, then they are said to be “HIV positive”. This means they have tested positive for having HIV in their body. If someone doesn’t have HIV, they are said to be “HIV negative”. This means they have tested negative for having HIV in their body (no HIV).

In 2004, there were 2362 people living with the HIV virus in Manitoba.  This makes up 4.61 of the Canadian population living with HIV.  As Manitobans average 3.73% of the population of Canada, we have a higher figure proportionally of people living with the virus.

There are many ways you can support someone living with HIV. One of the simplest ways is to be non-judgemental. If someone feels like they are going to be judged by someone for being HIV positive, then they aren’t going to turn to that person for support. Treat them like you would treat any friend; do things that you enjoy together, talk, hangout, etc. Remember that it is totally ok to be friends, date, hangout or play sports with someone who has HIV. It’s also important to respect their privacy. People don’t have to give out any details or information about their health if they don’t want to.  For more info on HIV and AIDS, feel free to call the AIDS and STI info line at 1-800-782-2437.

There are many theories about where and how HIV/AIDS came to be. One of the main theories is that HIV evolved from a similar virus that chimpanzees carried.

In Central Africa chimpanzees are hunted for food and its possible that during the process of hunting and cooking, chimpanzee blood and human blood came into direct contact and transmitted HIV to humans. Once humans were infected, then the virus began to be passed to other humans.

It is not uncommon for viruses to pass from animals to humans, other examples are the Avian Flu (Bird Flu) and more recently, the H1N1 Virus (Swine Flu). Both viruses passed to humans who were in close contact with the sick animals (usually either at slaughterhouses or meat markets).

No, there is no cure for HIV at the moment. There is HIV treatment which is medicine that helps keep a person’s immune system strong. This treatment, and taking care of oneself by getting lots of rest and eating well, helps someone with HIV to live longer.

HIV cannot survive outside of the body. On an intact surface, such as your skin without any open cuts for example, it dies right away. At the most it could survive for a couple of minutes. Please call the AIDS/STI Info Line if you want more information.

No, the four fluids in the human body that can transmit the HIV virus are blood, semen and vaginal fluids (sex fluids), and breast milk. Not coming into contact with these four fluids is the safest. This includes not sharing needles (for drugs, tattoos, piercings, and otherwise), not fighting, practicing safer sex (using condoms and dental dams), and not breastfeeding if you have HIV.
If someone has come into direct contact with one of these fluids from someone else, they should get an HIV test done at their nearest Teen Clinic.

HIV attacks a person’s immune system making it more difficult for them to fight off infection. HIV technically becomes AIDS when someone has two or more infections that they are no longer able to fight off. A person could live with HIV on average for 7-10 years depending on many factors such as how well the person takes care of their body by eating well, getting plenty of sleep, etc. Also how a person with HIV is treated by society and the support that they have from family and friends also plays a role.

How long someone lives with AIDS again depends on a number of factors: how well they take care of their body (eating healthy, taking proper medication), getting proper medical care, the type of infections they may have, etc.

There are 2 types of HIV: HIV-1 & HIV-2.

HIV-1 is the most common.  Both types lead to AIDS.  HIV is a virus that mutates quickly, so within these 2 types there are various strains. If two people who were both infected with HIV had unprotected sex, it would be possible to re-infect each other with the different strain, making the situation much worse. This would be called a super-infection.