2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

Preventing HIV/AIDS
1
Personal level - responsibility for reducing
risky behaviors
Abstinence
Safe Sex
new condoms each time
lifetime partner
Get Tested
early detection controls spread of AIDS
National/International level - Increasing
awareness of and education about risks
2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Factors associated with reducing risk for HIV/AIDS
Abstain from sexual activity
Limit sexual activity to non-infected partner
Avoid contact with blood, semen, vaginal fluids
Use a condom (latex) every time you have sex
Use a water based lubricant with condoms
Abstain from risky sexual activity: oral or anal sex
Abstain from sex with high risk people: prostitutes, etc.
Do not inject drugs
Never share a needle or drug
Protect against other STIs


2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Recent Developments
with AIDS
3
Self-testing kits
No cure, but treatments have improved
Early treatment reduces death rates
Improvements in drug therapies raise
concerns about increases in high-risk
sexual behavior
Search for a vaccine for HIV is well
underway, though no vaccine is
currently available

2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
To facilitate early identification of HIV, the CDC in 2006 revised its guidelines
for HIV screening in medical settings, suggesting that testing should be
routine for every person over the age of 15. In 2009, the American College of
Physicians joined the CDC, recommending that physicians encourage all of
their patients to get tested for HIV, regardless of their level of risk.

There is no cure for AIDS but treatments have improved.

Early treatment dramatically reduces death rates. A review of 22 studies
in Canada and the US found a 70% reduction in mortality for those who
received earlier treatment for HIV.

Early treatment with ART may also decrease rates of HIV transmission.
Although antiretroviral treatment (ART) does not eliminate the risk for HIV
among partners of individuals who are HIV positive, one study found over a
90% reduction in risk for infection among sexual partners of individuals
started on ART, relative to those who did not begin ART.

More than 100 vaccines have been tested in humans or animals, and many
vaccines are currently undergoing clinical trials in the US and abroad. There
has been renewed hope from a study in September of 2009 in Thailand that
found a significant reduction.
2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
How can STD treatment slow the
spread of HIV infection?
Evidence from intervention studies indicates that
detecting and treating STDs may reduce HIV
transmission.
STD treatment reduces an individual's ability to
transmit HIV. Studies have shown that treating STDs in
HIV-infected individuals decreases both the amount of
HIV in genital secretions and how frequently HIV is
found in those secretions (Fleming, Wasserheit, 1999).
Herpes can make people more susceptible to HIV
infection, and it can make HIV-infected individuals more
infectious. It is critical that all individuals, especially
those with herpes, know whether they are infected
with HIV and, if uninfected with HIV, take measures to
protect themselves from infection with HIV.
Among individuals with both herpes and HIV, trials are
underway studying if treatment of the genital herpes
helps prevent HIV transmission to partners.

2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
What are the implications for HIV
prevention?
Strong STD prevention, testing, and treatment can
play a vital role in comprehensive programs to
prevent sexual transmission of HIV. Furthermore,
STD trends can offer important insights into where
the HIV epidemic may grow, making STD
surveillance data helpful in forecasting where HIV
rates are likely to increase. Better linkages are
needed between HIV and STD prevention efforts
nationwide in order to control both epidemics.