HIV/AIDS: How is HIV transmitted?


	Overview \| Facts at a Glance \| FAQ \| Libraries \| Organizations \| News Summaries
	Global Health Reporting How is HIV transmitted? HIV transmission can occur when blood, semen, pre-seminal fluid, vaginal fluid or breastmilk from an HIV-positive person enters the body of an HIV-negative person. HIV can enter the body through a vein, the lining of the anus or rectum, the lining of the vagina and/or cervix, the opening to the penis, the mouth, other mucous membranes -- such as the eyes or inside of the nose -- or cuts and sores. Intact, healthy skin is an excellent barrier against HIV and other viruses and bacteria. Worldwide, the most common way that HIV is transmitted is through sexual transmission, including anal, vaginal or oral sex with an HIV-positive person. HIV also can be transmitted by sharing needles or injection equipment with an injection drug user who is HIV-positive, or from an HIV-positive woman to her infant before or during birth or through breastfeeding after birth. HIV also can be transmitted through receipt of infected blood or blood clotting factors. Overview Facts at a Glance FAQ Libraries Organizations

What factors make women more vulnerable to HIV infection?

A combination of biological, social, cultural and economic factors contribute to women's increased vulnerability. In particular, gender inequalities prevent women from asserting power over their own lives and controlling the circumstances that increase their vulnerability to infection. Women are also physiologically more susceptible to becoming infected with HIV than men.

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Kaiser Provides Online Coverage of International AIDS Conference; Broadcast-Quality Daily Highlight Videos Available for Media
In partnership with the International AIDS Society, kaisernetwork.org provided online access to the XVII International AIDS Conference in Mexico City. More than 75 webcasts and transcripts of conference sessions are available online, in addition to English-language podcasts. Journalists are also able to download daily broadcast-quality highlight videos of the conference. For more information, please click here.

2008 AIDS Report

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An interactive web-based timeline designed to serve as an ongoing reference tool for many of the political, scientific, cultural, and community events that have occurred from 1981 to today.