World AIDS Day

 

 

Saturday was World AIDS day and the world took some time to educate and spread awareness.  The AIDS quilt was right around the corner from us here in Las Vegas.  It stopped in Bakersfield, CA on its tour.  In this day and age, no one should contract the disease let alone die from it.  There are so many ways to prevent the spread of AIDS and HIV, however there is no cure once a person contracts the virus.

According to WebMD’s Web site,

Anyone can get HIV if they engage in certain activities. You may have a higher risk of getting HIV if you:

• Have unprotected sex. This means vaginal or anal intercourse without a condom or oral sex without a latex barrier with a person infected with HIV.
• Share needles to inject drugs or steroids with an infected person. The disease can also be transmitted by dirty needles used to make a tattoo or in body piercing.
• Receive a blood transfusion from an infected person. This is very unlikely in the U.S. and Western Europe, where all blood is tested for HIV infection.
• Are born to a mother with HIV infection. A baby can also get HIV from the breast milk of an infected woman.

Recently in Chicago, there were four transplants that were performed on patients who did not have the virus. After the transplant, they tested positive for HIV. Transplants may seem safe, but they actually can be very deadly, as in this case. The donor was tested before the transplants, but the doctors explained after finding out the shocking news, that if a donor contracts the virus close to the time of the test, it will show up negative. 

Take the time today to learn more about HIV and AIDS and get tested!