The fight against HIV / AIDS is not won, far from it. Everyone can be affected, yet still too few people know the virus, in particular its modes of transmission. This lack of knowledge is detrimental to prevention, and above all it fuels misconceptions that are sources of discrimination, rejection, for fear of screening, which is essential to end AIDS. A clarification on different questions is therefore necessary.
An Ifop-Bilendi survey, carried out in February 2020, reveals that 26% of young people say they are badly informed about the subject. Whether you are young or older, awareness of HIV / AIDS is paramount. Thanks in particular to the fight and work of the association AIDES *, the leading association in the fight against HIV / AIDS and hepatitis in France and in Europe, the information and prevention tools, which are so necessary, are accessible. To eradicate another scourge, the ‘fake news’, an overview of the false claims we hear about HIV and AIDS.
HIV and AIDS are the same thing
FAUX
HIV and AIDS are not the same thing! On the one hand, we are talking about HIV, which is a virus: the Human Immunodeficiency Virus. And on the other, AIDS, today a common name born from the acronym of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, due to this virus.
AIDS can be easily cured
FAUX
For several years, many effective triple therapies have appeared, but we still do not cure HIV / AIDS! Advances make it possible to ‘live better’ everyday life with the virus, but it still remains present in the body, even if it can be so little present that it becomes undetectable. That is why we must protect ourselves from it.
Mosquitoes can spread HIV
FAUX
No, mosquitoes do not transmit HIV When they bite, they reject saliva and not the blood they have ingested. In addition, there is not enough blood on the trunk of these insects to transmit this virus.
Kissing an HIV positive person is not risky
TRUE
There is no risk. The amount of virus in saliva is so small that the danger is zero. The virus lives inside certain cells of the body, which are present in the blood, sexual secretions (sperm, seminal fluid, vaginal secretions, etc.) and breast milk.
One of the best allies against the AIDS virus is using a condom
TRUE
Internal and external condoms, provide effective protection against HIV and sexually transmitted infections. But today, other equally effective means of protection against HIV exist! Like Prep, which is a 100% effective preventive treatment against the virus when taken correctly.
Nor should we forget screening, which allows people with HIV to know their HIV status, to have access to treatment and ultimately, to stop transmitting the virus.
Finally, in the event of unprotected intercourse, post-exposure treatment (TPE) is available in the emergency room: it must be taken within 48 hours after intercourse and very greatly reduces the risk of infection.
You can be contaminated by perspiration
FAUX
This is completely untrue. The virus is not caught by perspiration, nor by tears, because its quantity in these liquids is too low. Only blood, semen, seminal fluid (a transparent fluid that flows at the start of an erection), vaginal fluids, rectal fluid, and breast milk can transmit HIV.
Only gay men are affected
FAUX
Globally, women today make up half of all people living with HIV. The homosexual community was one of the first massively affected and it has largely built and carried, and still carries the fight against HIV / AIDS. There is no “population at risk”, it is “practices which expose to the risks of transmission”.
The morning after pill protects against HIV
FAUX
It remains an emergency contraceptive. The pill avoids pregnancy but does not in any way protect against the transmission of HIV in the body during unprotected sex.
We die less from AIDS today
TRUE, BUT!
A figure: 770,000 people died of AIDS-related illnesses in 2018 worldwide, 56% less than in 2004, the year of the peak mortality of the epidemic, according to a report by the UNAIDS. In our country, antiretroviral therapies have greatly reduced the death rate, but we must not claim victory. There are still too many dying of AIDS worldwide, no cure is possible and there is no vaccine.
You have to wait three months before getting tested
FAUX
There are several screening methods. Today, the associations offer rapid tests (Trod) with a drop of blood taken at the fingertip, the results of which are sure 12 weeks after the report, therefore approximately 3 months. It’s the same for self-tests. For a result over a shorter period, the test can be carried out in the city laboratory with a conventional blood test. The result then gives a valid result 6 weeks after the risk of exposure.
If there is a risk of exposure to HIV, post-exposure treatment accessible in the emergency room is highly recommended: it is effective within 48 hours after the report.
Screening allows people to know their HIV status, to access treatment in the event of discovery of seropositivity and to break the chain of transmission. This is the key to stopping the epidemic!
Withdrawing before ejaculation protects against HIV
FAUX
Even without internal ejaculation, unprotected intercourse poses a risk of exposure to HIV because pre-seminal fluid (that which flows from the penis before ejaculation) constitutes a mode of transmission of the virus.
There is always a risk when having sex with an HIV positive person on treatment
FAUX
People who receive treatment and whose viral load is undetectable do not transmit the infection during sexual intercourse. The most risky thing is to make love with people who believe they are HIV negative and who have not had a test recently.
You can’t get HIV during oral sex
FAUX
The risks of transmission during fellatio or cunnilingus are poorly understood, but they exist in theory. This can be the case if a person who has oral sex, for example, has an open sore in the mouth. The virus contained in semen or seminal fluid then has a “gateway” into the body.
A person with HIV cannot have children
FAUX
It is quite possible to have a child when you are HIV positive. However, you must anticipate pregnancy in order to benefit from appropriate medical care and avoid the risk of transmission to the child. Thanks to the treatments available today in France, there have been no more cases of mother-to-child transmission since 2016. The cases that occurred were linked to the lack of follow-up due to ignorance of the serological status, or the lack of treatment.
To note in your diaries: visit July 4 on fetelamour.fr for an event bringing together more than 60 artists and personalities. Throughout the day and during an exceptional feature film broadcast at 9 p.m., the personalities involved will tackle the themes of desire, sex, love, and of course HIV. Come with us and say yes to love, no to HIV.
To support AIDES it is here. Your donations are essential: € 40 = 200 prevention kits distributed (a condom + a gel); € 80 = 6 HIV self-tests sent; 160 € = two people screened and accompanied “.
* AIDES has been working for 35 years with and for populations most vulnerable to HIV and hepatitis to reduce new infections and support those affected to care for and defend their rights. More generally, the association plays a major role in improving the care of patients in the health system in France, the development of the rights of vulnerable people and the fight against discrimination.
Bibliography:
utm_source = rss & utm_medium = rss & utm_campaign = young-people-information-and-prevention-of-AIDS-3
https://www.unaids.org/fr/resources/fact-sheet
https://www.aides.org/vih-sida-c-quoi
https://www.lecrips-idf.net/ressources/documents/2/8932,Brochure-VIH2019.pdf
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