Transmission

The AIDS virus can be spread in many ways. AIDS can be transmitted by direct contact of bodily fluids from an infected male or female. The AIDS infected blood contaminates uninfected blood. The three most common methods of transmission are: sexual activity such as sexual intercourse (blood to semen contact), oral or anal sex; blood transfusions of infected blood; and the sharing of intravenous needles which may have contaminated blood still in them.

The virus cannot be contracted in many of the ways people think it can. There is a very low concentration of the virus in tears and saliva, so these cases of transmission are very rare. There are no known cases of transmission through mosquitoes or any other animals.

Another common way of AIDS transmission is mother to child transmission. The virus can be transmitted to the child from the mother before or during the delivery of the baby. The other mother to child transmission case is through the breast milk that he/she is fed in the early stages of the child's life. At this time, there is no cure for this deadly virus, but by using forms of prevention that are described further into the page, you can lessen the chance of contracting AIDS.