Where There Is No Doctor 2011 399
Additional Information
When we revised Where There Is No Doctor in 1992, we added several topics.
We continue to update these with each new edition. Some of these topics were
specifically requested and others are problems that affect more and more people,
such as HIV and AIDS, complications from unsafe abortions, pesticide poisoning,
and drug addiction. We added the section on blood pressure because the book is
used by many health workers who have equipment for measuring it.
HIV and AIDS
HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) is a very small germ, called a virus, that you
cannot see without a microscope. AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) is
an illness that develops later, after a person has been infected with HIV for some time.
HIV is now found all around the world.
HIV reduces the body’s ability to fight disease. A person with HIV can get sick very
easily—from illnesses such as diarrhea, pneumonia, tuberculosis (TB), and certain
types of cancer. Most people with AIDS die from diseases their bodies are no longer
strong enough to fight.
HIV spreads when an HIV-infected person’s blood, semen (sperm), breast milk, or
fluid from the vagina enters the body of a person without HIV. It can spread through:
Unprotected sex
between someone
who has HIV and
someone who
does not. This is
the most common
way HIV is
spread.
Using an
unsterilized
needle or syringe
(or any instrument
that pierces or
cuts the skin).
Pregnancy, birth or
breastfeeding, which
can pass HIV to a
baby if the mother is
infected. (See p. 398
for information on
preventing HIV from
spreading this way.)
Blood transfusions,
if the blood has not
been tested to be
sure it is free from
HIV.
HIV is not spread through everyday contact such as shaking hands, hugging,
kissing, or living, playing, sleeping, or eating together. Also, it is not spread by food,
water, insects, toilet seats, or communion cups. Caring for someone with HIV or
AIDS is safe if you follow the advice on p. 401.
IMPORTANT: Someone who looks and feels completely healthy can have, and
spread, HIV. It may take years after the virus enters the body for the first signs of
illness to appear. The only way to know for sure whether or not you have HIV is to
get an HIV test. These tests are available at many health centers at low or no cost.