HOW IS AIDS TRANSMITTED?
Many people fear contact with people infected with the AIDS virus. This has led to terrible physical and emotional hardship for AIDS victims and unnecessary terror among some members of the population. Abundant evidence demonstrates that there is no danger whatsoever of contracting AIDS from an infected person except by practicing what is known as “unsafe sex” (unprotected anal or vaginal intercourse, or other exchange of body fluids with an infected partner), or by sharing needles for intravenous drug use with an infected person. Casual (nonsexual) contact with AIDS-infected people is not dangerous. Household members of AIDS-afflicted individuals do not contract the disease and health care workers looking after AIDS patients have not developed the ailment except in exceptional circumstances in which body fluids were exchanged (infected blood on an open wound, and so on).
The ordinary contact between people, which includes touching, shaking hands, talking, coughing, sneezing, or kissing, poses no risk to the general population. There is nothing to suggest that the AIDS virus can be transmitted by food or water, telephones or toilet seats, or from mosquito bites (although some entrepreneurs would like you to believe that you are in constant danger so that they can sell you unnecessary protective devices for telephones or toilet seats, and the like). You do not have to worry if you were served in a restaurant by a gay waiter, if your grandchildren are taught by a gay schoolteacher or attend class with an AIDS-infected schoolmate, or if the flight attendant serving you on an airplane has contracted the virus from a sexual partner or a blood transfusion.
You should be concerned about getting AIDS if you are planning to have or have had sexual activities with someone whose sexual history is such that they may unknowingly have the disease. A person may be infected with the AIDS virus and not have any obvious symptoms for months or years. Because people of all ages may have sexual affairs and may visit prostitutes, it is a real possibility that unprotected sex with an unfamiliar partner could be hazardous for you. If you are sexually active it is highly recommended that condoms be worn by men and a spermicidal foam (which has an antiviral effect) be used by women during sexual activities that might transmit the virus. These recommendations, which apply at all ages, greatly reduce the chances of acquiring an AIDS infection.
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