Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is the virus that causes Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), which is a human retrovirus that is transmitted through semen, blood, vaginal fluid and breast milk. Only when these body fluids from an HIV-infected person enter the body of another person is a risk present.

This means that for people to be at risk for HIV infection they must have:

· Vaginal or anal sex with an HIV-infected person without a condom
· Share syringes (needles) used for intravenous drugs, steroids, vitamins, tattoo or body piercings
· Receive a blood transfusion (most risk is associated to transfusions received prior to 1985 in the USA)
· Be born to an HIV-infected mother
· Perform oral sex on an HIV-infected partner (which is considerably less risky)

Casual kissing DOES NOT transmit HIV; however, the possibility of coming into contact with blood in deep kissing (or french kissing) makes deep kissing a low risk.

HIV infects the immune system cells, primarily the T-lymphocyte (also known as T-cell or CD4 cell). In persons with a healthy immune system, the T-lymphocyte can number between 800-1200 at different points of the day. When a person's CD4 count drops to 200, it is then that a person will receive an AIDS diagnosis. *

HIV injects its RNA into the host cell (commonly T-lymphocyte cell) as well as Reverse Transcriptase (which helps to transform its RNA into DNA), Integrase (which assists the newly formed DNA to enter the nucleus of the host cell) and Protease (which helps to dissect the long strands of protein which the newly infected cell has now been programmed to manufacture). The cell will, after the replication process, then create hundreds to thousands of newly created virus cells.

To review current statistics on HIV please link to the Centers for Disease Control website at www.cdc.gov and click on AIDS/HIV.

*To receive a diagnosis of AIDS one might have T-cells above 200 but have one or more CDC-defined opportunistic infections.