Sunday Times (Johannesburg) - April 8, 2007

There are cells in your body which protect you from invasion by bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites. They also destroy cancer cells. The HI Virus attacks and destroys these cells in your body so that they can no longer fight diseases.

After you have been infected for a long period, usually 3 - 7 years, many of these cells will have been destroyed and your body will not be able to defend itself against infections and cancers. This is the phase of HIV - infection when you become sick, and is known as AIDS.

How can you become infected with HIV?

HIV must get into a person's blood to infect them.For you to transmit it to another person it has to pass from your body in your blood or your sexual fluids, into their body through a break in their skin.

If you are infected, the HI Virus is in:

* Blood

* Semen

* Vaginal fluids

* Mother's milk

You can get HIV from sex

HIV can be spread through sexual intercourse. Many infected people have no symptoms and have not been tested. If you have sex with one of them, you put yourself in danger.

If you have a sexually transmitted disease, the virus can pass much easier into your body during sexual intercourse because you will have open sores that allow the virus through. Women are infected more easily through sex, because the lining of the vagina breaks easily, and allows the virus into the body.

Safer sex

Most people in South Africa get infected with the AIDS virus by practicing unsafe sex. If you want to protect yourself from AIDS you must have safer sex. Sex is safer if:

* You use a condom

* The penis does not penetrate the vagina or anus

* You have sex with only one partner in your lifetime, and your partner only has sex with you - this is a faithful relationship

* You and your partner have an HIV test which shows negative and then you only have sex with each other - this is also a faithful relationship

You can get HIV from sharing needles

Sharing needles or syringes, even once, is a way of becoming infected with HIV and other germs. HIV from an infected person can remain in a needle or syringe and then be injected into the bloodstream of the next person who uses it.

HIV and babies

A woman infected with HIV can pass the virus on to her baby while she is pregnant, while she is giving birth or when she is breastfeeding. Any woman who wants to have a baby and who thinks she may have been exposed to the virus - even a long time ago - should go for counselling and testing for HIV.

Blood transfusions

In the past, some people became infected with HIV from receiving blood transfusions. Now all blood for transfusions is checked for antibodies to the HI Virus. There is very little chance that a person could get an AIDS infection from a blood transfusion. There is also no chance of getting AIDS by donating blood, because a brand new, sterile needle is used for each person who donates.

How you cannot get HIV

HIV infection does not "just happen". You cannot catch it like a cold or flu. HIV is not spread by coughing or sneezing. You only get HIV by receiving infected blood, semen or vaginal fluids from another person. HIV is not easy to get.

* You will not get HIV through everyday contact with infected people at school, at work, at home, or anywhere else

* You will not get HIV from clothes, telephones, computer keyboards or toilet seats.

It cannot be passed on by things like cups, knives and forks

* You cannot get HIV from eating food that has been prepared by an infected person

* You will not get HIV from a mosquito bite. HIV does not live in a mosquito. You also will not get it from bedbugs, lice, flies or any other insects

* You will not get HIV from sweat or tears

Four Important Facts about HIV/AIDS:

* HIV infection can be prevented

* HIV is only transmitted in a few specific ways

* HIV does not discriminate - it can infect people of any race, age, gender or sexual orientation

* There is no cure for HIV/AIDS

The stages of infection

Stage 1 HIV infection

This is when the virus enters the body. There are no signs or symptoms of infection.

Stage 2 Window period

The virus is present in the body but has not yet produced antibodies which can show up in an HIV test. There are no signs or symptoms of disease. This stage usually lasts from 2 to 12 weeks, but may last months.

Stage 3 Seroconversion

This is when antibodies develop in the blood and an HIV test will detect them. In other words, it is when you convert from being HIV-negative to HIV-positive. Some people have a flu-like illness for a few days - slight fever, tiredness, aching muscles and joints.

Stage 4 HIV infection with no symptoms

There are no signs or symptoms of illness, although infection is present. This period may last from a few months to many years.

Stage 5 HIV / AIDS related illnesses

The immune system (the cells which fight disease) has been damaged by the virus. Symptoms of diseases increase but as yet they are not severe enough to threaten life. Examples of symptoms are a low-grade fever that lasts several weeks, diarrhoea, extreme tiredness, weight loss, skin rashes, swollen glands and night sweats. Women may get vaginal infections (thrush) that never seem to clear up, even with treatment. Infections gradually become more frequent and more serious. This period may last for months or years.

Stage 6 AIDS

Serious infections and cancers invade the body because the immune system is now very weak. Typical infections are pneumonia, skin cancers, "slim's" disease and TB. The patient could die at this stage from an untreatable condition.

Workplace conditions

There is very little chance that HIV can be transmitted in your workplace. Unless there is blood present, there is no danger of catching the virus from being around people who may be infected. Even if a person sneezes or coughs, there is no blood present so you cannot catch the virus. A worker with HIV / AIDS does not have to be isolated, and needs the support, sympathy and understanding of his or her co-workers.

In workplaces where there might be blood or other infectious fluids around, you are at risk of catching the HI Virus. You can get stuck with a needle with blood on it, get cut with a sharp instrument or get splashed in the eyes, nose or mouth with infected blood. Workers who may come into contact with blood include:

* Health-care workers such as nurses, laboratory workers, laundry workers and dental assistants

* Police officers

* Emergency workers such as ambulance drivers and firefighters

* Prison workers

* Mental health workers

* Teachers

In the workplace, use "universal precautions" whenever you come into contact with:

* Blood

* Body fluids

* Cuts, wounds, or other kinds of "open skin" or lesions

Universal precautions means treating all blood and other body fluids as if they were infected with HIV.

Universal precautions include:

* Washing your hands between each patient or each task

* After using the bathroom

* After taking off your gloves

* Wearing gloves when you touch blood or other body fluids

* Wearing a gown, mask, or eye protection when you may be splashed with blood or other body fluids

Universal precautions should be used by all workers including housekeepers, laundry workers, diet workers and janitors.

If there are splashes of blood or body fluids on the floor or on your clothes, common cleaning materials such as bleach and water, and ammonia, destroy and dissolve the AIDS virus within 30 seconds.

Testing for HIV/AIDS

It is important to get yourself tested for HIV if you think it is possible you have been exposed to the virus. It is important to know whether you have the virus because you can remain healthy by eating healthy food, sleeping properly and cutting down on alcohol. Also, you may be able to begin treatment immediately.

However, it is your choice as to whether you wish to be tested. Nobody may test your blood without your consent. If you agree to be tested in your workplace, your results must remain confidential and counselling must be provided before and after testing.

Employers are legally prevented from testing for HIV before hiring workers. The LRA also protects applicants from unfair or discriminatory hiring practices

Testing for HIV before you are admitted to a medical aid scheme is also illegal.

Treatment

There is no cure for AIDS. There are medicines available which boost the immune system and reduce the amounts of the virus in the body. These are called anti-retroviral drugs and protease inhibitors. Most of them are produced by multinational pharmaceutical companies and are very expensive. It has been found that if you take three of these drugs together, it boosts your immune system effectively.

Two common examples of these drugs are AZT and nevirapine. AZT is particularly effective in reducing the possibility of a mother infecting her baby during childbirth. Because it costs the government a lot of money to treat babies who are born with HIV infection, it is more cost-effective for it to provide this drug to pregnant women who are HIV positive.

Apart from these anti-retroviral drugs, there are medications which treat the infections that invade your body when you have AIDS.

Confidentiality and Testing

It is the law that HIV testing should only take place after appropriate counselling and with informed consent.

There should be no direct or indirect pm-employment testing for HIV. There should also be no HIV testing for training or promotion purposes.

The HIV status of an individual employee is of no relevance to an employer. People with HIV have equal rights to privacy and confidentiality. If an employee discloses his or her HIV status to colleagues and management this information should be treated as confidential.

Web: www.cosatu.org.za

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