How much do we really know about this deadly disease called AIDS? For starters, is HIV the same as AIDS? This couldn't be further from the truth.

HIV is a virus that gets into the body and flows through the bloodstream. AIDS is the disease that is caused by HIV. Once you are diagnosed as HIV positive, you do not automatically have AIDS. There is a possibility of being HIV positive, and not having AIDS. In fact it is the infections that break down the body's immune system rather than the AIDS that kills.

There are three main ways the HIV can be spread:

• Sexual intercourse
• Intravenous drugs
• Blood transfusions (this is now rare because all blood is tested)

AIDS can be transmitted by direct contact of bodily fluids from an infected male or female. Another common way of AIDS transmission is from a mother to her child, before or during the delivery, or through breast feeding. There is no cure for this deadly virus, but by using forms of prevention you can lessen the chance of contracting AIDS.

Symptoms
In the first stages of HIV, the symptoms don't show up. People can live with AIDS for years without knowing it. Blood tests at the doctor will show antibodies after they form to fight the AIDS virus, but it takes the antibodies three months to show up. That means that if you take a blood test right after you have sex, the virus won't show up for another three months.

During the second stage, the virus grows within the white blood cells and destroys them. When most of the cells are destroyed, the immune system is destroyed and the body weakens. A person will feel tired and loose weight and may develop a cough, diarrhoea, fever, or sweating at night.

By the third stage a person is severely ill. The AIDS virus has nearly destroyed the body's immune system, which has difficulty fighting off germs. As a result, AIDS doesn't kill anyone, but other infections do!

Can it be cured?
There is no cure for AIDS, but there are drugs that can slow down the HIV virus, and slow down the damage to the immune system. But there is no way to get all the HIV out of your body. There are other drugs that people can take to prevent or to treat some of the infections. Scientists are hopeful that a vaccine against the HIV virus will be found in the near future.

Myths
There are lots of myths surrounding Aids and how it spreads! Relax, there's no way you can get it from any of the following:

• Sitting on a public toilet seat
• Sharing glasses or cutlery
• Ordinary social contact like shaking hands or talking to someone
• Although tiny amounts of the virus can be found in saliva, phlegm or tears, it's most unlikely to be spread by kissing or coughing, because you can only catch the virus if it enters your bloodstream.

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