HIV is a virus that damages human immune cells. It weakens the immune system and, without treatment, leads most infected people to develop AIDS. Like all viruses, HIV infects the cells of a living organism in order to make new copies of itself. HIV can only be transmitted in certain ways and the purpose of this page is to explain how you can and can’t become infected.
HIV cannot live for long outside the body, so to be infected you need to allow some body fluid from an infected person to get inside your body.
HIV is found in blood and other body fluids such as semen and vaginal fluids. It cannot live for long outside the body, so to be infected with HIV you need to allow some body fluid from an infected person to get inside your body. The virus can enter the body via contact with the bloodstream or by passing through delicate mucous membranes, such as inside the vagina, rectum or urethra.
The most common ways that people become infected with HIV are:
- having sexual intercourse with an infected partner.
- injecting drugs using a needle or syringe that has been used by someone who is infected.
- as a baby of an infected mother, during pregnancy, labour or delivery, or through breastfeeding.
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