World AIDS day is celebrated every year on 1^st of December.

 

Approximately 35 million people are affected with HIV worldwide. In India around 2.5 million people are suffering from HIV while in US more than one million people are suffering. There is decline in HIV infectivity in India as well as other parts of the world during the past 10 years. About 80 percent of the AIDS cases are reported in men between the age group of 20 to 44. In general males, percentage varies from 78 to 80 percent and the female around 20 to 22 percent. Nearly 1.8 percent of the total AIDS cases are children born to HIV infected mothers. In HIV infection an infectious doze means presence of ten thousand or more particles in the body. The level of HIV particle in different body fluids varies.

“AIDS is defined as HIV positive patient with CD4+ count less than 200cell/mm³ or CD4+ count less than 14% of total lymphocyte population”.

 

34.1 Transmission of HIV –

There are three major ways of HIV transmission

• 1)  Sexual interaction

2)  Blood transfusion

3)  Perinatal infection

 

1)  Sexual interaction - Risk of transmission of HIV is higher if person is infected with other sexually transmitted disease (STD) eg. herpes, syphyllis, Gonorrhoea etc. Passive partner is always in the higher risk side. This is more established way of HIV transmission.

2)   Blood transfusion – HIV transmission is also possible by the way of infected blood, syringes, needles and other body fluids including saliva. Since now blood donors are screened first for HIV, the number of HIV cases decreased to a greater extent.

3)  Perinatal infection – Young born children get infected if the mother is infected with HIV. There are several theories established regarding transmission of HIV through placenta or during delivery. Many studies have suggested involvement of breast milk for the transmission of HIV.