The likelihood of contracting HIV - what is the chance of getting sick? The degree of risk of HIV infection through unprotected contact has been determined

Unfortunately, not all people use contraceptives during sexual intercourse, preferring sex without a condom. This is allowed only in one case - if your partner is permanent and you are planning the birth of a child with him. If the partner is random, such behavior is unacceptable. Such carelessness is fraught with very serious problems. In particular, you can become infected with a dangerous sexually transmitted infection (STD).

If there was an unprotected sexual contact - the probability of infection vich is? What is this probability? Are there effective measures to prevent the development of HIV infection? Let's talk today on this page www.site on this important topic:

What is the likelihood of infection?

If the partner is a carrier of HIV, then unprotected sexual contact with him is dangerous for the transmission of the virus. The likelihood of infection is quite high. However, according to experts, this route of infection is in third place after blood transfusion from an infected person or transmission of infection from a pregnant woman to the fetus. On average, the possibility of contracting HIV through sex without a condom is much less than the risk of contracting other STDs.

There are official data from the American Center for Disease Control that the probability of contracting HIV during one sexual contact without a condom is: from an infected woman to a man - 0.1 - 0.3%, in the absence of factors that increase the risk of infection (co-factors). These are, in particular, sexually transmitted diseases of one of the partners, inflammation, abrasions, wounds of the mucous membrane, as well as erosion of the cervix, or menstruation.

The risk of infection also depends on the gender of the partners. For example, women are infected several times more often than men, which is associated with their physiological characteristics. With unprotected contact, a large number of viruses enter the female body along with the sperm of an infected partner. In vaginal discharge, their number is much less.

How to prevent infection?

The main method of prevention is the absence of contact with the immunodeficiency virus. Of course, you don't have to give up sex altogether. You should just avoid casual one-night stands, be faithful to one sexual partner in whom you are sure. Be sure to use a condom every time you have sex.

Some believe that infection can be avoided by practicing coitus interruptus (without male ejaculation). Indeed, this measure reduces the likelihood of infection, but infection with HIV through sexual contact in this case is not completely excluded.

Will emergency STD prevention help?

With the help of drug prophylaxis, it is really possible to reduce the risk, and often prevent the occurrence of many sexually transmitted diseases.

The only condition is that you should take the appropriate drug as soon as possible. Usually, the scheme of preventive measures after unprotected sexual contact corresponds to the treatment scheme for the acute stage of an infectious disease.

With the help of emergency prevention of STDs, the development of gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis and many other sexual infections can be prevented. However, it will not save you from viral diseases: genital herpes or HPV (human papillomavirus), as well as HIV infection.

Modern medicine does not yet have such medications that can be used independently for the purpose of emergency prevention of HIV infection. However, a doctor can help.

Emergency post-exposure prophylaxis of HIV

If you have had such unprotected sexual contact and you are afraid of contracting HIV infection, contact the AIDS center in your city as soon as possible.

You will be assigned an examination that will help determine the likelihood of infection. If there is a high risk of infection, the doctor will prescribe special antiretroviral drugs that will significantly reduce the risk of developing the virus.

The course of taking such funds is designed for a month. But in order for the measures taken to be effective, you should contact a specialist no later than three days after intercourse. Even better immediately or the next day.

After a month of treatment, another examination is carried out. Most of the time everything goes well. However, if the tests show a positive result, you will be given a more complex, detailed blood test. Its results will show the degree of impact of the virus on the immune system, which will help the specialist develop the most effective, individualized treatment regimen.

However, you must always remember that no medicine is a panacea, so you need to take care of safety measures in advance. As we have already said, the best prevention is sex with one partner you are sure of, and regular use of a condom.

If you are a supporter of open relationships without obligations, if you prefer unprotected sexual contact, then there is always a chance of contracting HIV. And this probability is quite high.

On the pages of the medical journal Journal of Infectious Diseases, a study that once again clarified the degree of risk of contracting HIV through heterosexual sexual contact. In addition, doctors analyzed and what factors that affect this risk.

Let's start with the main finding: for heterosexual couples in which one partner is infected with HIV, the risk of infection is 1 in 900. That is, on average, there is one infection per 900 unprotected intercourse - this is in order of magnitude consistent with past estimates and slightly exceeds them. Using a condom reduces the risk by about 78%, i.e. to the level of 1 infection in 4000 sexual acts; of the risk factors, the key is the concentration of the virus in the blood of an infected partner. Everything else, that is, age, the presence of concomitant infections or circumcision, are second-order factors. Although, for example, circumcised men become infected almost half as often, and with age, the risk significantly decreases.

The authors of the study, including specialists from both the University of Washington in the United States and their colleagues from medical centers in Kenya and South Africa, separately noted a greater risk of infection in the pair "infected man - uninfected woman", but when asked whether this was due to ratio of roles in sexual intercourse, it was difficult to answer. According to the scientists' article, it is also possible that men, on average, had a high concentration of viral particles, so it is clearly premature to draw conclusions about the supposedly better protection of men from the virus.

Context: sex, HIV and risks

The most risky sexual intercourse from the point of view of epidemiologists is anal sex, especially for the receiving partner. Moreover, regardless of sexual orientation, since the permeability of the mucous membrane in both men and women is the same.

The safest act is either oral sex (the risk is about one infection in several thousand), or even mutual caresses with hands.

The study was conducted in sub-Saharan Africa, a region that is rightfully considered the most disadvantaged on the planet in terms of the number of people infected with HIV. Doctors examined 3,297 couples where one of the partners was HIV positive and collected information on all cases of infection, along the way, collecting all the information that made it possible to identify risk factors.

They, of course, may seem quite obvious, since similar studies have been carried out before. But in the same issue of the Journal of Infectious Diseases there is also a commentary by two third-party experts - Ronald Gray and Maria Waver from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore (note that both have dozens of publications on the topic of HIV, based on clinical research materials). These experts point out that the American-African group has received the most reliable data to date on how high the risk of HIV infection is in a permanent heterosexual couple.

This knowledge is useful, first of all, not even to epidemiologists, but to ordinary citizens. In Russia, according to various estimates, infected from almost 550 thousand (official data) to one and a half million people; The virus has long gone beyond the narrow circle of intravenous drug users or people who have a large number of unprotected sexual contacts with casual acquaintances. To date, there is no one hundred percent reliable means of protecting against infection, but research shows us how and how much risk can be reduced.

Context: statistics and its reliability

The most disadvantaged countries are Swaziland, Botswana, Lesotho, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia. These African states are characterized by the proportion of HIV-infected adults from 15 to 25%.

Among the least affected by the spread of the virus, according to the CIA directory, are the Central Asian republics, but it is not very clear how much local statistics can be trusted. However, official data from the World Health Organization also directly indicate a spread of estimates within at least a dozen or two percent, even where there is more trust in local health authorities: the number of HIV-positive residents of industrialized countries is estimated at 1.9 to 2.7 million.

We can only confidently say that the proportion of HIV-positive citizens in Russia does not exceed a few percent according to the most pessimistic estimates, and the same statement is true for most developed countries.

Context: therapy and money

On the one hand, modern antiviral drugs already make it possible in some cases to say that it is possible to live with HIV no less than without it - there are examples of patients who, with the help of drugs, have been successfully curbing the growth of the number of viruses in the body for more than two decades.

On the other hand, drugs are expensive, containing the virus costs tens of thousands of dollars per infected person. In Russia, according to official data from the Ministry of Health and Social Development, it is planned to provide 105 thousand people with therapy in 2012 - those who wish can compare this number with the official number of infected people. In African countries, the situation is even worse: the Zimbabwean economy, with 80% unemployment and a collapsed national currency, is in principle unable to support at least programs to prevent HIV infection of children of HIV-infected mothers.

Context: fidelity and probability

From all the accumulated data on the risks of infection and the number of HIV-infected, several conclusions can be drawn about how high the probability of infection is:

After a year of living together with a single partner (who is about 1% likely to be HIV positive) - about 0.1%

After one casual connection with an HIV-infected person - about 0.11%

After one casual relationship (partner is infected with a probability of 1%) - about 0.001%

For these reasons, it is obvious that just abstaining from promiscuity is not enough - even people who have never practiced casual unprotected sex are not immune. Some of the new cases are not at all due to frivolous behavior: unless, of course, the very fact that a person could have more than one partner during his life is not recorded as such!

All possible ways of infection and methods of prevention are widely known, but some people are still interested in the ways of transmission of HIV infection. Let's figure it out.

There are two concepts - HIV and HIV infection. On the one hand, there are no significant differences in them, but if you look at them from a scientific angle, then HIV is just an immunodeficiency virus, and the infection is caused by this virus. HIV can be deciphered as human immunodeficiency virus.

This virus destroys the human immune system, making it vulnerable to other diseases and infections.

The immunodeficiency virus completely destroys immune cells. Over time, microorganisms that do not pose any threat to a healthy person become dangerous to the body of an infected person. At a certain point in the course of the infection, he begins to destroy his own cells, trying to fight himself.

HIV is unstable to environmental influences, but at the same time it spreads catastrophically. It exists in the human body for a couple of days, and in the external environment for only a few minutes.

The virus has killed thousands of people who ignored doctors' advice to lead a healthy lifestyle or at least use a barrier method of contraception. That is why the question of treatment, as well as possible ways of transmission of infection in our days is particularly acute.

Before you know exactly how HIV infection occurs, you should understand which groups of people are most susceptible to this disease.

Homosexuals

Initially, it was believed that only same-sex couples, most often homosexuals, were susceptible to HIV. After it turned out that this is not so, but, nevertheless, homosexuals are more likely than others to become infected with HIV. Since gay men practice anal, moreover, most often, unprotected sex, they are one of the main carriers of HIV infection.

drug addicts and prostitutes

Drug addicts often use the same needles for several people, they are not able to control themselves and neglect their health just for the sake of the dose, which significantly increases the risk of infection. The most dangerous are people who practice promiscuity, mostly prostitutes. They, at the behest of the client, who may also already be HIV-positive, often practice sex without a condom.

Medical workers

Medical workers are at risk only because of their profession, and not because of the violation of simple precautions, like the rest. The number of infected among healthcare workers is not so high, but each of them runs the risk of being included in this list every day. Their work involves constant contact with infected people, which increases the risk of infection at times.

Methods of infection

Infection can get through the blood in case of direct contact - parenteral route. What can you get HIV from?

During blood transfusion

Infection with HIV infection can occur in the case of a transfusion of contaminated blood. In modern hospitals, this possibility is practically excluded. Donors are carefully screened for HIV infection before donation, and then the blood is also passed through several stages of testing. There is a strict regulation on the issue: after what time after the donation, the blood can be used for its intended purpose. In a blood bank, this is possible only after passing all the tests.

In some exceptional cases, when blood is needed urgently, doctors may neglect this duty in order to save the patient's life. But even when using tested blood, there is a risk: immediately after the donor is infected, it is almost impossible to detect the disease, it takes several months, since the first symptoms appear only then. Therefore, the blood may be contaminated, even if the test did not reveal it. There is a possibility of infection inside the hospital when reusing instruments in a medical facility.

As in the previous paragraph, the probability of such an infection is very small. Hospitals now use disposable instruments whenever possible. Reusable instruments go through several stages of disinfection, which reduces the risk of infection. But if this happens, the infected can sue the institution and receive compensation.

This mode of infection is common among drug addicts who, while under the influence of drugs, neglect their health and can reuse injection materials. In this case of infection, one syringe used by a person with AIDS can infect dozens of other people. Poor cosmetic manipulations can also cause HIV infection. These include all types of piercings and permanent tattoos. Clients of underground unlicensed salons are most at risk. The prices in them are much lower than in the usual ones, but the quality of services and the contingent of customers is appropriate.

Sexual contact

Unprotected sex is the main cause of HIV infection. This refers only to barrier contraception, that is, condoms. Oral contraceptives only protect against pregnancy, but not against sexually transmitted diseases. During heterosexual intercourse, microcracks appear on the mucous membrane of the vagina and penis, which cannot be seen or felt. Contact with infected fluid on one such wound guarantees sexual transmission of HIV if sex occurs without a condom.

Also, despite the fact that oral sex is recognized as one of the safest, infection with it is still possible. Virus cells are found in large numbers in sexual secretions (lube and semen). A small sore or scratch in the mouth is enough for infection.

There are several factors that increase the risk of HIV transmission through sexual contact many times over - this is the presence of any STD.

Also, how HIV infection occurs in men is somewhat different from that of women. This is due to the larger area of ​​the female genital mucosa and the fact that the concentration of the virus in the semen is much higher. Days of menstruation also increase the risk of infection.

Vertical path - from mother to child

It is possible that HIV can be transmitted from a sick mother to her child during pregnancy. During intrauterine development, the fetus receives all the substances it needs through the mother's circulatory system, since it is connected to it. Therefore, if you do not suppress the activity of the virus with the help of special drugs, there is a high risk of giving birth to an infected child. There are especially many viral cells in breast milk, so breastfeeding should be discontinued in case of illness.

Sometimes, even if all precautions are observed: taking medications, careful actions of doctors, the child can become infected right during childbirth. It will depend on the duration of pregnancy and the professionalism of doctors. Many people believe that an infected mother will definitely give birth to an infected child. This is a very common misconception. According to statistics, 70% of children from such mothers are born absolutely healthy. There is always a chance to give birth to a healthy child, but you should remember after what time the baby can be diagnosed.

How long does it take to find out if a child is infected or not? Until the age of three, it is not possible for a child to be diagnosed as "HIV-infected". Until this age, the mother's antibodies developed to the virus remain in the child's body. If, upon reaching this age, antibodies completely disappear from the child's body, then he is healthy. If his own antibodies are detected, the child has been infected.

Myths about HIV infection

Science has not identified any method of transmission of HIV other than those listed above. Despite the fact that the medical literacy of the population is increasing, many are still wondering: is it possible to get infected through a handshake or in a household way? The correct answer is no. You should know the basic myths about HIV in order to be able to communicate normally with sick people and not be afraid of getting infected.

Infection through saliva

The virus is contained in the waste products of the human body, but it is negligible in saliva. It contains almost no virus, as it is not on the surface of the skin. Do not be afraid of infected people and bypass them. Couples are known where one partner is infected and the other is not. This is proof that HIV cannot be transmitted through kissing.

airborne way

The virus is transmitted only through fluids such as blood and genital secretions. Saliva, as we have already found out, is harmless. Therefore, you should not be afraid of a sneezing or coughing person: he will not be able to infect others.

Through food and drink

You can safely drink from the same mug with an infected person or eat from the same plate of a bowl: it is impossible to get infected from this. through household activities. It is quite easy to live under the same roof with an infected person. You can use the same dishes and even hygiene products with him without fear of infection. Healthy, intact skin and mucous membranes will keep the virus out and protect you from infection.

Get infected in a bath or pool

Can you get infected in a public bath or swimming pool? No. The virus dies almost immediately when it enters the environment. Therefore, do not be afraid of a common toilet, public pool and bath, as the virus simply will not survive in water. Animals are carriers of HIV. Animals cannot carry the virus, under any circumstances. HIV is a human immunodeficiency virus, so it is not dangerous for animals. Mosquitoes also cannot carry HIV.

As we have already understood, you should not be afraid of people infected with HIV if you follow simple precautionary rules and monitor your health.

1978 was officially marked by the discovery of the stamp of one of the most dangerous viruses in the world - HIV. Until now, scientists have not been able to overcome a deadly infection that destroys the human immune system. However, there is a therapy that can maximize the life of the patient (up to 15 years from the date of acquisition of the virus). There are several ways of getting infected, therefore, in order to prevent a death sentence, it is necessary to familiarize yourself with them and adhere to preventive measures.

Medicine knows three main ways that HIV infection enters the body:

1. Sexual(if there was sexual intercourse without barrier contraception).
2. Parenteral(upon contact with contaminated blood).
3. Vertical(the process of infection from mother to child, namely in the prenatal period, during childbirth and during feeding).

Attention! HIV infection cannot be transmitted through saliva during a kiss. Despite the fact that the virus is transmitted through most human fluids (semen, vaginal secretions, blood), its concentration in saliva is minimal.

During sexual contact

It has been determined that it is during unprotected sexual intercourse that HIV infection occurs most often. Semen or vaginal secretions contain enough virus to be transmitted to a healthy person. Therefore, if there was sexual intercourse without the use of a condom (the main means of barrier contraception that can protect against a deadly virus), then 100% infection can be confirmed. Once the virus enters the body, it is no longer possible to eliminate or block it.

It is important! A sufficient amount of the virus for infection is contained in the menstrual blood. When it enters the mucous membrane of the genital organs of a healthy person (if there are wounds), mandatory infection will occur.

Oral and anal sex - what is the danger?

Do not forget that oral and anal sex are not safe. With oral contact, if there are damages on the mucous membrane, then HIV can easily enter the body. Therefore, any oral sex with a carrier of the virus increases the risk of infection.

Anal sex is considered more dangerous. At the peak of HIV activation, homosexuals were the main carriers of the virus. This is explained by the fact that the rectum (precisely its mucous membrane) can be easily injured during penetration, therefore, a favorable condition is created for the direct entry of the virus into the bloodstream.

Risk factors for sexually transmitted infection

If a person has STDs such as gonorrhea, chlamydia, or syphilis, then the likelihood of infection is five times greater. In addition, it is women who are the main risk group, they are much more likely to become infected with HIV. This is explained by the fact that the area of ​​​​the mucosa (through which penetration into the body occurs) is much larger than in men.

This is dangerous! In semen, the concentration of the immunodeficiency virus is higher, so it is more dangerous for a woman to have sex with a sick man. In addition, vaginal secretions contain much less HIV infection.

When a woman has inflammatory processes, then unprotected sexual intercourse is prohibited in order to avoid infection with dangerous infections, as well as HIV. It has been established that with a diagnosis of uterine erosion, a woman becomes infected with the virus much more often. HIV infection is especially dangerous for women during menstruation.

Infection through the parietal route

The penetration of the virus occurs through the use of an infected syringe. Basically, drug addicts who practice injections with one syringe fall into the risk group. Contact of the needle with infected blood, and then with healthy blood, leads to HIV infection.

Note! HIV transmission through the use of a disposable needle has decreased to date, in line with the minimum prices for disposable syringes.

In medical practice, there have been cases of infection during surgical interventions, blood transfusions, and injections. However, in today's world there is practically no such possibility. All blood donors undergo a detailed screening for infection (particularly HIV and hepatitis viruses). For injections, only disposable syringes are used. When performing surgical manipulations, instruments are used that undergo thorough sterilization and disinfection (several stages of processing).

Statistics! Almost half of the carriers of the virus are medical workers who became infected through careless contact with infected blood. Infection is not excluded even if the blood with the virus gets into the eyes.

vertical infection.

Most people, to the extent of ignorance, believe that an infected mother always gives birth to an infected child. However, scientists have found that in this case only 30% of sick children are born, the remaining 70% remain unaffected by the virus. Basically, infection occurs transplacentally, during the passage of the baby through the birth canal, as well as during breastfeeding.

It is worth considering that a child born to an infected mother is not diagnosed with HIV until the age of three. During these years, antibodies to the virus from the mother may remain in the child's blood. After three years, when they disappear, the child is considered healthy. If the child's body develops antibodies to a viral infection, the diagnosis of HIV is confirmed.

An increased risk of infection occurs if the mother has the following:

• HIV or the final stage - AIDS, manifests itself painfully in a woman;
• inflammatory processes are observed in the reproductive system;
• in the vaginal secret there is an increased concentration of the virus;
• negative social status (a woman leads an unhealthy lifestyle, eats poorly, refuses necessary therapy).

Reference! If the child is not full-term or is postponed, then the probability of infection is very high.

How can you not get infected?

There are many myths that claim false ways of getting HIV. To dispel misconceptions, you should read the detailed information.

In order to consult a doctor in a timely manner in case of infection and the use of the necessary therapy, you need to know the primary symptoms of HIV, a video will tell about it.

Video - The first symptoms of HIV

Infection prevention

Upon penetration into the body, the virus is activated in all biological fluids. But a sufficient amount to infect a healthy person can only be in semen, vaginal discharge (menstrual blood), blood, and breast milk. Therefore, there are several points of prevention:

1. Avoid contact with biological fluids.
2. Have sex only with trusted partners or always use barrier contraception.
3. Use only disposable syringes for injections.
4. If this is a medical worker, then with infected materials (blood, semen) must apply special protection methods.
5. During pregnancy, if a woman is a carrier of the virus, then special therapy is carried out to prevent infection of the fetus.
6. To prevent infection of the child during the passage of the birth canal, specialists perform a caesarean section.

Attention! Women who have been diagnosed with HIV are strictly prohibited from breastfeeding. It is best to raise a child on artificial nutrition.

If there is a suspicion of HIV or a risk factor for infection, then it is urgent to contact a specialist for further examination of the body. Suspicions should be caused by any atypical catarrhal conditions (thus, HIV manifests itself in the first stages). It is recommended to undergo an HIV test every six months, so that if the diagnosis is confirmed, timely use of ART therapy and slow down the viral processes in the body. Otherwise, if you refuse therapy, life expectancy is significantly reduced. Subject to the use of therapy and a healthy lifestyle, an HIV carrier can live a little more than fifteen years (cases of twenty years have been noted).

According to their attitude towards HIV infection, people at risk for this disease are divided into two groups. Some, not considering HIV as a problem at all, ignore the danger and carelessly indulge in the joys of life. Others, getting lost in the flow of information and confusing reality and fiction, are ready to contact the outside world only through a condom or latex gloves. Let's just say that both are wrong. The problem of HIV infection today has been studied well enough to know exactly in which situation the risk of infection is real, and in which it is extremely unlikely. How HIV is transmitted, in what situations the risk of infection is maximum, when special care is needed - let's figure it out.

In the body of an HIV-infected person, the virus, in an amount sufficient for infection, is found in the blood, semen, vaginal secretions and breast milk. Sweat, saliva, urine and feces contain insufficient amounts of the virus to cause infection, but contact of these secretions with open wounds can create a risk of infection. According to the existing data, we can confidently speak about three ways of HIV infection transmission: sexual, parenteral (through blood and organs) and vertical (from mother to child).

Sexual transmission of HIV

A prerequisite for a "successful" infection of HIV infection through sexual contact is the presence of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the semen or vaginal secretion of one of the partners. Infection occurs during any kind of sex: vaginal, anal or oral. It is rightly considered that anal sex is more dangerous than vaginal because of the high risk of traumatizing the rectal mucosa, which makes it easier for the virus to enter the bloodstream. This route of infection is relevant for both hetero- and homosexual contacts.

The risk of infection through oral contact is due to the frequent presence of microtraumas on the oral mucosa, through which the virus from the semen (vaginal secretion) of an HIV-infected person enters the body of a healthy partner. It is understood that not swallowing infected semen does not reduce the risk of HIV infection. Transmission of the virus during oral sex through saliva is also real: although the level of viral particles in saliva is much lower than in semen or vaginal secretions, trauma to the penis or genitals of a woman during oral contact provides direct contact of infected saliva and blood and increases the risk of infection.

Sex with an HIV-infected woman during menstruation is extremely dangerous - the level of the virus in the menstrual blood significantly exceeds its content in the vaginal secretion.

Contact of infected vaginal secretions, menstrual blood or semen with intact skin of a healthy person is not dangerous, since the skin is an insurmountable barrier to the immunodeficiency virus. But if there are wounds, abrasions, cracks and other damage on the skin, the transmission of the virus becomes quite real. It is also dangerous to get semen or vaginal secretions into the eyes and other mucous membranes.

The risk of infection for a woman increases in the presence of cervical erosion, inflammatory processes in the vagina, cervix, microtrauma of the vaginal mucosa. In men, the likelihood of infection increases the inflammatory processes of the genital organs.

From the point of view of virologists, any unprotected sexual contact with a partner whose HIV status is not known for sure should be the reason for an HIV test (antibodies to HIV) after 3 and 6 months, counting from the moment of possible infection.

Unfortunately, the reality is that relying on the word of even the most beloved person regarding genital infections is highly discouraged.

Please note: the use of lubricants, contraceptive and antiseptic suppositories, douching with antiseptic solutions (miramistin, potassium permanganate solution, soda, citric acid, etc.) do not kill the immunodeficiency virus and do not prevent infection after contact with an HIV-infected partner.

There is a certain risk of contracting HIV infection in the process of using assisted reproductive technologies, namely, when a woman is fertilized with donor sperm. When using canned sperm, the risk is lower, as sperm donors are tested for HIV infection at the time of sperm donation and again after 6 months, and only after that the sperm is considered suitable for use. When using native (fresh, unpreserved) sperm, the risk of infection is higher, since the donor, who is tested for HIV only at the time of sperm collection, may be in the period of seroconversion (there are no antibodies to HIV in the blood yet, but biological fluids are already potentially infectious).

vertical path

Infection of a child from an HIV-infected mother can occur in several different ways. The most common (80-90% of infections) is transplacental infection, that is, the transmission of the virus from the mother's blood to the fetus's blood through the placenta. The possibility of transplacental transmission of the infection is reduced by about 3 times if the mother takes her prescribed antiretroviral drugs (anti-HIV drugs) during pregnancy. The second possibility of transmitting HIV infection to a child is provided during childbirth (intranatal route), when the child, passing through the birth canal, comes into contact with the blood and vaginal secretions of the mother. Prevention of infection in this case is delivery by caesarean section. It is also possible to transmit the infection after the birth of a child - through breast milk. To avoid this transmission option, breastfeeding is not recommended for HIV-infected women.

With proper management of pregnancy, the risk of infection of the child is significantly reduced, that is, the opportunity to give birth to a healthy baby becomes quite real.

In the absence of special measures, the risk of having an HIV-infected child from an HIV-infected mother is 30%; however, if the pregnancy and childbirth of an HIV-infected woman is carried out according to the rules, the risk of transmitting the virus to the child is reduced to 5%.

The risk of transmission of HIV infection from a child to mother increases if the mother has inflammatory processes of the uterus and vagina, cervical erosion, inflammation of the amniotic membranes (chorioamnionitis), premature birth, post-pregnancy. The risk of infection is directly affected by the number of previous pregnancies and childbirth (the more pregnancies and childbirth, the higher the risk of infection). Also, the probability of infection is determined by the immune status of a woman, living conditions and nutritional value.

parenteral route

This route of infection is characterized by the transmission of HIV through blood and its components or transplanted organs. A potentially dangerous volume is considered to be more than 0.1 ml of blood.

Intravenous drug users are at the greatest risk of infection - approximately 80% of them are infected through a shared syringe. Less likely, but a wave of infection is possible through a narcotic substance into which infected blood accidentally got or was intentionally added.

There is, although relatively small, the risk of infection from an accidental needle stick from a syringe found on the street - in the ground, in grass, in sand, in a garbage container, as well as from a deliberate needle stick with infected blood in transport (unfortunately, such cases - Not unusual). The more time has passed since the moment when infected blood entered the syringe (needle), the less the risk of infection, since HIV is unstable in the external environment and quickly dies when the blood dries. In addition, the risk of infection is reduced by the very small amount of biological material that can fit on the tip of a medical needle.

Other variants of the parenteral route of HIV infection include infection during transfusion of donor blood and blood products (plasma, erythrocyte mass), transplantation of donor organs and tissues, use of non-sterile or improperly disinfected medical instruments (syringes, droppers, needles, surgical instruments, probes, catheters , endoscopes, etc.). Also, infection can occur in the process of tattooing, when performing piercings, manicures and pedicures (in case of violation of the rules for processing instruments or reusing disposable instruments).

The risk of HIV infection of medical personnel arises during operations and manipulations associated with contact with the biological fluids of an HIV-infected patient, when performing intravenous infections, placing a dropper, taking materials for analysis. In terms of infection, it is dangerous for HIV-infected blood to get on the mucous membranes of a health worker (in the eyes, mouth, nose), as well as contact of the blood of a healthy person with fresh HIV-infected blood through injections, cuts and other skin injuries.

Situations with a low risk of contracting HIV infection

1. Handshake is safe; infection is possible only when two palms come into contact, each of which has an open wound, which is practically impossible.
2. Swimming in a pool, sea, lake, river, staying in a bathhouse, sauna at the same time as an HIV-infected person is safe, because the virus is not viable in water and in the air and quickly dies.
3. Contact with the sweat of an HIV-infected person is safe; too few viruses.
4. The use of common cutlery, common utensils at home, in a cafe, restaurant is safe, since the amount of virus in the patient's saliva is not enough to infect, the virus is not viable and quickly dies in the environment.
5. Bites of blood-sucking insects are safe; insect saliva does not contain blood and therefore cannot transmit the virus. No cases of HIV transmission by mosquitoes and other blood-sucking insects have been registered.
6. Kissing (on the cheek, on the lips) is safe because saliva does not contain the virus in the amount necessary for infection. The theoretical risk of infection is present if both partners have their lips and tongues bitten into the blood.
7. Sleeping in the same bed, using shared bedding, hugging is safe.
8. The risk of infection during a gynecological examination and taking smears from the vagina and cervical canal is practically zero, since disposable or reusable sterilized medical instruments are used for this purpose.
9. Communication with pets is safe. Cats, dogs and other pets do not carry HIV.
10. Infection of HIV infections through door handles, handrails in the subway and other public transport is impossible.

Finally

HIV infection is a real problem that, unlike most infectious diseases, is fairly easy to prevent. All you need to do is stop promiscuous sex, not take drugs and try to avoid and prevent other situations that are accompanied by an increased risk of HIV infection. Take care of your health!