Frequently Asked Question (from FHTH September newsletter)

Q. If someone I know adopts a child with HIV, aren't they putting themselves and all the rest of us at risk of catching it?

A. So many of us are afraid when we hear the terms HIV and AIDS: and this is understandable! We have seen what the disease can do! But many people don't know that HIV is a very fragile virus - it begins to die immediately when it leaves the body - and there are very specific
ways that it is transmitted. HIV is only transmitted when the virus enters the bloodstream. This only occurs through sexual contact; through the use of contaminated needles or other sharp instruments, or receiving a transfusion of HIV-infected blood products; and from a mother who is HIV infected to her child during pregnancy, childbirth, labor and delivery, and breast-feeding. HIV exposure does not occur with normal household contact. It is not transmitted through tears, saliva, mucus or other bodily fluids. HIV+ individuals can, (and do!) share cups, baths, pools, dishes, bathrooms, and normal life! In addition, advances in treatment in past years have transitioned HIV from what used to be a terminal disease to a chronic illness. When children
receive treatment for their HIV, the amount of virus in their bloodstream can be brought so low that it is considered "undetectable" - making the possibility of transmission that much more remote!

(From HIV to Home Sept 08 newsletter)

"History will judge us on how we respond to the AIDS emergency in Africa...whether we stood around with watering cans and watched while a
whole continent burst into flames.....or not."
Bono