HIV - Basic Information

Advice videos on transmission, prevention, tests, living with HIV/AIDS, and more.: provided by VideoJug.com - A video learning site.; A website where people can watch straightforward, helpful and informative videos on anything and everything in life – all for free. VideoJug has recently produced some excellent videos using relevant experts in HIV/AIDS. Click on the above link and check them out!

Reporting AIDS: provided by Scribe Media.org; Reporting AIDS focuses on the people, policies and issues facing the global community. Shows appear twice a month with in-depth interviews conducted by host John Mikytuck.

HIV and AIDS Multimedia Library: provided by Healthology, an iVillage company; Healthology is one of the leading producers and distributors of physician-generated health and medical information on the Internet for consumers, patients and health professionals. It has one of the largest and most distinguished libraries of original video and text-based health content on the Web.

Understanding HIV Resistance Testing: HIV drug resistance continues to present challenges for patients and their healthcare providers. Resistance testing can help guide the selection of anti-HIV drugs to ensure patients receive effective treatments that keep HIV levels in the blood as low as possible. This webcast will provide helpful information to guide patients in discussions with their healthcare providers about the important role of resistance testing in HIV therapy.
What Treatment-Experienced Patients Need to Know: While great strides have been made in HIV/AIDS treatment, challenges remain for patients at all stages of HIV disease - particularly for patients with extensive treatment experience who may have drug resistance. This webcast will provide helpful information to guide these patients in discussions with their healthcare providers about the importance of minimizing and managing HIV drug resistance.

A Brief Introduction to HIV and AIDS: What You Need to Know: Becky Kuhn, M.D., Co-founder, Global Lifeworks; Dr. Kuhn is a co-founder of Global Lifeworks. In this video she covers critical basic information about HIV and AIDS. HIV is a virus that causes the disease AIDS, which can be fatal. There are treatments but no cure. HIV is spread by contact between body fluids (blood, semen, vaginal fluids, and breast milk) and mucous membranes (eyes, nose, mouth, and genitals). It is spread by sexual contact, injection drugs users sharing needles, from mother to child during childbirth or nursing, and (early on during the epidemic) by receiving blood transfusions.
Did I Just Contract HIV? Symptoms of Primary HIV Infection: Becky Kuhn, M.D., Co-founder, Global Lifeworks; Dr. Kuhn is a co-founder of Global Lifeworks. In this video Dr. Kuhn discusses the symptoms of primary HIV infection and the importance of seeing your doctor and requesting immediate HIV testing.

The Top Ten Myths About HIV/AIDS: Becky Kuhn, M.D., Co-founder, Global Lifeworks; Dr. Kuhn is a co-founder of Global Lifeworks. In this video Dr. Kuhn debunks the top 10 myths about HIV
Ten More Myths About HIV/AIDS: Becky Kuhn, M.D., Co-founder, Global Lifeworks; Dr. Kuhn is a co-founder of Global Lifeworks. In this video Dr. Kuhn debunks ten more myths about HIV

Beyond ABC: Newer Approaches to Preventing HIV/AIDS: Becky Kuhn, M.D., Co-founder, Global Lifeworks; Dr. Kuhn is a co-founder of Global Lifeworks. In this video Dr. Kuhn discusses newer approaches to preventing HIV/AIDS.
What Life Factors Contribute to Contracting and Transmitting HIV?: Becky Kuhn, M.D., Co-founder, Global Lifeworks; Dr. Becky Kuhn discussions some of the life factors that contribute to contacting and transmitting HIV.
Condoms, Testing, Monogamy, and Honesty: Phil Johnson, M.D., Carle Clinic; Dr. Johnson discusses condoms, monogamy, testing, and honesty as means of preventing the spread of HIV.
Prevention for Positives: Becky Kuhn, M.D., Co-founder, Global Lifeworks; Dr. Kuhn is a co-founder of Global Lifeworks. In this video Dr. Kuhn discusses how HIV positive people can help prevent the further spread of HIV.
Preventing the Spread of HIV Through Injection Drug Use: Becky Kuhn, M.D., Co-founder, Global Lifeworks; Dr. Kuhn is a co-founder of Global Lifeworks. In this video Dr. Kuhn explains how injection drug users can reduce their risk of contracting or transmitting HIV.
HIV Prevention for Men Who Have Sex With Men (MSM): Becky Kuhn, M.D., Co-founder, Global Lifeworks; Dr. Kuhn is a co-founder of Global Lifeworks. In this video Dr. Kuhn discusses how men who have sex with men (MSM) can reduce their risk of contracting or transmitting HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
Sex, Crystal Methamphetamine, and HIV: The Connection: Becky Kuhn, M.D., Co-founder, Global Lifeworks; Dr. Kuhn is a co-founder of Global Lifeworks. In this video Dr. Kuhn discusses how the use of crystal methamphetamine (a.k.a. meth, tina, crank, speed, tweak, ice, glass, or crystal) is ... all » contributing to the spread of HIV.

Why EVERY Person Should Be Tested for HIV When They Visit the Doctor: Becky Kuhn, M.D., Co-founder, Global Lifeworks; Dr. Kuhn is a co-founder of Global Lifeworks. In this video Dr. Kuhn discusses the US Centers for Disease Control recommendation that all people age 13-64 be tested for HIV when they visit the doctor.

Better Adherence for a Better Life: Becky Kuhn, M.D., Co-founder, Global Lifeworks; Dr. Kuhn is a co-founder of Global Lifeworks. In this video Dr. Kuhn discusses why it's so important for HIV positive people to take their antiretroviral medications (ARVs) at the prescribed dosages on the prescribed schedules.

Opportunistic Infections: All about OIs, how to avoid them, how to treat them. This is the most comprehensive source of information on opportunistic infections anywhere on the Internet.; By the way, the Discovery Channel used our Opportunistic Infection section as part of its science curriculum during the fall of 1997.
HIV Infection and AIDS: An Overview: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) - August 2002; An introduction to HIV and AIDS -- who gets is, what the symptoms are, etc. This is a Fact Sheet from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).
How HIV Causes AIDS: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) - November 2004; How the HIV virus causes the disease called AIDS. A Fact Sheet from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).
The Relationship Between the Human Immunodeficiency Virus and the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) - August 2001; The acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is characterized by the progressive loss of the CD4+ helper/inducer subset of T lymphocytes, leading to severe immunosuppression and constitutional disease, neurological complications, and opportunistic infections and neoplasms that rarely occur in persons with intact immune function.
Seeing HIV in Action: PBS NOVA On-line - October 2000; Dr. José Assouline, a neurobiologist and AIDS researcher at the University of Iowa College of Medicine, has spent several years creating the animations below. They graphically represent the life cycle of HIV-1, from the initial binding of the viral particle onto a host cell (Viral Entry), through insinuation into the host cell's nucleus to spark the formation of new viral RNA strands (Viral Gene Transfer), and finally to the creation and migration out of the cell of a new HIV particle, complete with two copies of viral RNA (Viral Exit).

General and Laboratory Considerations: Rapid HIV Tests Currently Available in the United States: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Rapid HIV tests are simple to use and require little or no specialized equipment. They make it possible to provide test results at the time the test is done. Six rapid HIV tests approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are commercially available for use in the United States....
Testing Yourself for HIV-1, the Virus that Causes AIDS: U.S. Food and Drug Administration / Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research; The tests that are approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for detecting whether or not you are infected with HIV are available through your doctor or at clinics. For more information on the HIV test kits approved by FDA, see HIV, HTLV & Hepatitis Tests.
Quality Assurance Guidelines for Testing Using the OraQuick® Rapid HIV-1 Antibody Test: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; This document provides guidance on quality assurance (QA) practices for sites using or planning to use the OraQuick® Rapid HIV-1 Antibody Test to detect antibodies to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Posted: June, 2003; Requires Adobe Acrobat. Click here to download
Appendix: Quality Assurance Guidelines for Testing Using the OraQuick Rapid HIV-1 Antibody Test: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; This appendix includes several items to facilitate conducting testing and performing quality assurance using the OraQuick Rapid HIV-1 Antibody test. The forms provided are examples and templates that can be adapted for local use, adding or deleting fields, as needed.
Posted: June, 2003; Requires Adobe Acrobat. Click here to download
HIV Testing 101 (Part 1 of 2): Bruce Mirken - AIDS Treatment News #374, November 23, 2001; HIV antibody testing has been with us since 1985. Testing technology has evolved considerably over the years, with a variety of new and improved tests coming into use, both in research and daily practice. Since determining one's HIV status is the first step in treatment decisions, it is important to understand the tests being used today, including their limitations.
HIV Testing 101 (Part 2 of 2): Bruce Mirken - AIDS Treatment News #375, December 21, 2001; Shortly after getting infected with HIV, many patients have an acute (or "primary") HIV infection, a period of flu-like illness with symptoms like fever and malaise that could be caused by influenza or many other diseases. Many scientists and physicians believe it is important to treat during acute this HIV infection
Revised Guidelines for HIV Counseling, Testing, and Referral: CDC MMWR Recommendations and Reports, November 9, 2001 / 50(RR19);1-58; These guidelines replace CDC's 1994 guidelines, HIV Counseling, Testing, and Referral Standards and Guidelines, and contain recommendations for public- and private-sector policy makers and service providers of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) counseling, testing, and referral (CTR). To develop these guidelines, CDC used an evidence-based approach advocated by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and public health practice guidelines. The recommendations are based on evidence from all available scientific sources; where evidence is lacking, opinion of "best practices" by specialists in the field has been used.; Download .pdf document of this issue.
Revised Recommendations for HIV Screening of Pregnant Women: CDC MMWR Recommendations and Reports, November 9, 2001 / 50(RR19);59-86; These guidelines replace CDC's 1995 guidelines, U.S. Public Health Service Recommendations for Human Immunodeficiency Virus Counseling and Voluntary Testing for Pregnant Women, and are for public- and private-sector service providers who provide health care for pregnant women. In 1998, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) published a report that recommended simple, routine, and voluntary human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing for all pregnant women in antenatal settings, given the effective interventions available to treat HIV-infected women and reduce risk for perinatal HIV transmission.; Download .pdf document of this issue.
Online Toolkit for HIV Testing and Counselling: World Health Organization (WHO), August 4, 2004; A regularly updated toolkit providing references and offering practical guidance on the processes of planning and implementing testing and counselling services in resource-limited settings.
Rapid HIV tests: World Health Organization (WHO), March 29, 2004; This document contains guidelines for the use of rapid HIV tests in HIV testing and counselling services in resource constrained settings and also presents an algorithm for the use of HIV rapid tests. It explores the role for rapid HIV tests in efforts to ensure increased access to HIV testing. The advantages of rapid tests are described, in addition to several practical considerations for HIV testing services. The authors examine issues concerning the accuracy of test kits and testing algorithms.; Download .pdf document of this document.

HIV Type 2: From the US Centers For Disease Control, 2002. All about the less comon form of the HIV virus.

Becoming Informed

HIV RealTalk - webcasts from Boehringer Ingelheim

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HIV Tests and Testing

Other basic resources