WhatisAIDS?
.'.r/t'.
Deutsche
AIDS-Hilfe e.V.
AIDS
AIDS isisthe
the term
term for
for a disease
disease complex
complex which
which develops
develops as
äs aa
result
of an
resultof
an acquired
acquired disfunction
disfunction of the body's
body's immune
immun e
bee aa
system.
System. The
The crucial
crucial factor
factor causing
causing AIDS
AIDS isisthought
thought to
to b
vi
rus ca lied HI\/, Th
is vi rus wea kens the abi lity of the body to
viruscalledHIV.
Thisvirusweakenstheabilityofthebodyto
protect
infections..
protect itself against
against other
other infections
After
After a latency
latency period
period lasting
lastin g months and
and often
often years
year s an
an
immune
deficiency
immune def
iciency can
candevelop
develop leading
leading to
to aa number
number of
of
infections
raree forms
infections and
and illnesses,
illnesses, for
for example
exampl e pneumonia,
pneumonia, rar
forms
of
of cancer
canceretc.
etc. HIV
HIVcan
can sometimes
sometimescause
cause changes
changes within
within the
the
central
central nervous
nervoussystem,
System, but
but only
only seldom
seldomwith
with serious
serious effects.
ef fects.
HIV
HIV infection
infection does
does not
not always
always lead
lead to
to AIDS.
AIDS.
ItIt isisimportant
important to
to note:
note : Many
Many of
of the
the symptoms
Symptomswhich
which
appear
appear with
with AIDS
AIDSare
arethe
the same
same ones
ones associated
associated with
with many
many
other
other illnesses,
illnesses, for
for example
examplethe
the flu.
flu. Only
Only an
an experienced
experienced
doctor
whetherr or
doctor isiscapable
capable of
of determining
determining whethe
or not such
such
symptoms
AIDS..
Symptoms are
are aa sign
sign of
of AIDS
spread?
How
How is HIV
HIV not
not spread?
HIVis
HIV isaavery
very vulnerable
vulnerablevirus.
virus.ItIt dies
dies quickly
quicklyafter
after exposure
exposureto
to
air;
air, and
and normal
normal home
hom e or
or hospital
hospital hygiene
hygiene measures
measures are
are
renderr itit harmless.
sufficient
suff icient to rende
harmless. Although
Although HIV
HIVcan
can also
also be
be
found
found iinn urine,
urine, excrement,
excrement, saliva,
saliva, sweat,
sweat, and
and tears,
tears,the
the
amounts
low
amounts present
present there
there are
aretoo
too Io
w to
to cause
causeinfection
infection in
in
others.
HIVV infection
have
others. To
Todate
date no
no cases
cases of HI
infection are
are known
known tto
o have
taken
placee through
taken plac
through these
these body
body fluids.
fluids.
ItIt follows
follows that
that there
there is
i sno
no danger
danger of
of infection
infection by
by shaking
shaking
hands,
hands, hugging,
hugging, caressing,
caressing, or
or kissing,
kissing, by
by being
being coughed or
or
sneezed
sneezed on
on,, by
by using
usingthe
the same
same plates,
plates, cups,
cups, glasses,
glasses, or
or knives
knives
and
and forks,
forks, by
by sharing
sharing toilets,
toilets, swimming
swimming pools,
pools, or
or saunas,
saunas, by
by
working
working and
and living
living with
with or
or caring
caring for
for people
peopl e with
with HIV
HIVand
and
people
people with
with AIDS.
AIDS.
How
transmitted?
How iiss HIV
HIVtransmitted?
Infection
Infection iissonly
only possible
possible when
when blood
blood or
or semen
semen from
from aa
person..
person
person with
with HIV
HIVenters
enters the
the bloodstream of
of another person
These
highh levels
These body
body fluids
fluids can
can contain
contain hig
levels of
of HI\/,
HI V Sexual
Sexual
therefore the
intercourse
intercou rsewithout
withoutaacondom
condomisistherefore
themost
mostfrequent
f requent
path
path of
of infection. The
The lining
lining of
of the
the colon
colon isisespecially
especially
susceptible;
susceptible; thus,
thus, anal
anal intercourse
intercourse without
without aa condom
condom isisthe
the
sexual
to cause
ofthevirus.
sexual practice
practice most
most likely
likelyto
causetransmission
transmissionof
the virus.
HIV
transmitted through vaginal
HIV can
can also
also be
betransmittedthrough
vaginal intercourse,
intercourse,and
and
there
there isisincreased
increased risk
risk of
of infection during
duringthe
the menstrual
menstrual cycle
cycle
ifif a condom
usedd during
intercourse.. Another
riskk
condom isisnot
not use
during intercourse
Another ris
needless are
behavior
behavior isisintravenous
intravenous use
useof
of drugs
drugs if needle
are shared
shared
among
itted from
among users. In
In addition,
addition, the
the virus
virus can
can be
be transm
transmitted
from
mother
mother to child
child during
during pregnancy
pregnanc yand
and birth
birth..
Danger
Danger of
of infection
infection through
through blood
blood transfusions
transfusionsand
and
blood
blood products
products (for
(for example,
example, during
during treatment
treatment for
for haemohaemo impossibleeinin West
philia)
philia) has
hasbecome
becomevirtually
virtually impossibl
West Germany:
Germany:
since
HIVV antibodies.
since 1985
1985 all
all donated
donated blood
blood isistested
tested for
for HI
antibodies.
IsIs there
there a treatment?
treatment?
To
acquiredd immune
To date
date there
there is
i sno
no medical
medical cure
eure for
for acquire
immun e
deficiency,
prevent HIV
def iciency, nor
nor is
isthere
there aavaccine
vaccine to
to prevent
HIVinfection
infection..
Nonetheless,
Nonetheless, medicine
medicine has
has made
made progress
progress in
in treatment.
treatment. It is
is
now
now possible
possibleto
to successfully
successfull ytreat
treatand
andcontrol
control many
man yinfecinfections
tions which
which appear
appear as
äs aa result
result of
of AIDS.
When
When isis protection
protection adVisable?
advisable?
At present
present,, there
HIVV infection
there iissno
no cure
eure for
for HI
infection and
and AIDS,
AIDS, only
only
prevention.
prevention.
The
The groups
groups which
which have
have been
been most affected
affected by
by HIV
HIV
infection
infection are
are homosexual
homosexualand
and bisexual
bisexual men
men and
and intravenous
intravenous
drug
drug users.
users.Thus,
Thus, people
people from
from these
these groups can
can easily
easily find
find
themselves
infection..
themselves in
in situations
situations where
where there is
i srisk
risk of infection
Men
havee sex
Men who
who hav
sexwith
withother
othermen
mencan
canbest
bestprotect
protec t
through safer
themselves
themselvesthrough
safer sex
sexpractices
practicesand
andby
byusing
usingcondoms
condoms
during
during anal
anal intercourse.
intercourse.
useeonly
For
For i.v.
i.v. dr.ug
dr.ug users,
users, itit is
i sparamount
paramount to us
only one's
one's own
own
needles
needles and
and syringes,
syringes,and
and not
not share
share them
them with
with other
other users.
In
In Europe
Europeand
and North
North America
Americathe
thenumber
numberof
ofpeople
peoplewith
with
HIVoutside
ofthe
HIV outsideof
the above
above mentioned
mentioned groups isis still
still very
very small.
small.
Although
the
riskk for heterosexual
heterosexualssisis low,
is
Although th
e ris
Iow, infection
infectio n is
nonetheless
nonetheless possible
possiblethrough
through both
both vaginal
vaginal and
and anal
anal interintercourse
course without
without aa condom.
condom. In
In general,
general, on
on the
the subjects
subjectsof
of sex
sex
with
with more
more than
than one
on e partner;
partner, sex
sexwith
with persons
personsfrom
from the
the
groups
andd prostitution,
the
groups most
most affected,
affected, an
Prostitution, th
e use
useof
of condoms
condoms
isis aa good
againstt HIV
regardlesss of
good protection
protection agains
HIV infection,
infection, regardles
of
whether
sexuall contact
whether the
the sexua
contact is
ishomosexual
homosexual or
or heterosexual.
heterosexual.
What
test"" tell
What does
does the
the "test
teil us?
us?
The
Thetests
teststhat
that presently
presently exist
exist are
areused
usedto
to determine whether
whethe r
HIVvirus
. Ratherthan
HIV virusisispresent
presentininthe
theblood
blood.
Rather thanmeasuring
measuringthe
the
presence
presence ofthe
of the virus
virusitself,
itself, such
such tests
tests indicate
indicate the
the presence
presence of
of
antibodies
whichh the
antibodies whic
the body
bod y produces
produces in
in response
responseto
to HIV
HIV
infection.
infection. Unlike
Unlike antibodies
antibodies produced
produced against
against other infecrenderr the
tions,
tions, HIV
HIVantibodies
antibodies are
are not
not able
able to
to rende
the virus
virus
harmless.
harmless.
IfIf HIV
bee present,
HIVantibodies
antibodies are
are shown
shown to
to b
present, the
the test result
result
isistermed"positive";
termed "positive"; ififno
no antibodies
found, the
antibodies are
arefound,
the result
result isis
"negative".
infection with
"negative". After
After infection
with HIV
HIVitit may
may take
take several
several
months,
months, in
in some
some cases
cases even
even years,
years, before
before antibodies
antibodies will
will
show
resultt of
show up
up in
in test
test results.
results.Thus,
Thus,aa"negative"
"negative" resul
of a test
test
given
given too
too soon
soonafter
after infection means
means very
very little.
little. On
Onthe
the other
other
hand,
hand, if a test
test result
result isis "positive",
"positive",aafollow-up
follow-up test
test must
must be
be
given
confirm the
mistakes.
given in
in orderto
ordertoconfirm
the results
results and
and eliminate
eliminatemistakes.
A
confirmed "positive"
Aconfirmed
"positive" test
tes t result
result does
does not
not mean
mean that
that the
the
person
ill ever
person tested
tested has
hasor
orwwill
everget
getAIDS.
AIDS.Not
Notall
allpeople
peoplewith
with
HIV
HIV develop
develop diseases
diseases connected
connected with
with AIDS.
AIDS.
Important:
Important: Proper counseling
counseling should
should be
be aa part
part of
of any
any
decision
to take an H
IV test.
you decide to take
decisiontotakean
HIV
test.IfIfyoudecideto
takethe
thetest
testyou
you
should
should also
also make
make sure
sure that
that your
your results
resultswill
will not be
b e given
given to
to
you
you without
without qualified
qualif ied counseling.
counseling.
ItItis
is also
that you r test be anonymous, without
alsoimportant
importantthatyourtestbeanonymous,
without
record
record of
of your name
name and
and address. If
If you
you are
are aa citizen
citizen of
of a
none-EC-country,
none-EC-country, this
this is
isespecially
especiallyimportant:
important: aa "positive
"positive""
test
bee deported.
Yourr local
test result could
could cause
cause you
you to
to b
deported. You
local
you the
"AIDS-Hilfe"
"AIDS-Hilfe" can
cangive
giveyou
the names
names and
and addresses
addresses of
of places
places
where
where anonymous
anonymous HIV
HIVtests
tests are
are given.
given.
Independent
Independent of
of whether
whether or
or not the test
test isistaken,
taken,or
or
whether
testt results
positive" or ""negative",
negative", in
whether tes
results are
are ""positive"
in risk
risk
situations
situations protection
protection iissadvisable.
advisable.
AIDS and Society
AIDS
fatal illnesses produce fear: fear of
of
All serious,
serious, potentially fatal
decay, dying,
dying, death.
death. But
But there
there are
are aanumber
number of other
bodily decay,
fearsespeciallyassociatedwithAIDS.
HlVismainlyspreadin
fears
especially associated with AIDS. HIV
is mainly spread in
connection with
with behavior which is
not openly discussed
discussed in
in
connection
is not
society and
and which,
which, although
by many
our society
although unaccepte
unacceptedd by
people, iiss nonetheless
nonetheless widespread:
widespread: for
for example
sex bebeexample,, sex
casual sex
sexoutside
of longstanding relationships,
tween men,
men, casual
outside of
relationships,
drugs. This
This fact
fact has
hasmade
made it difficult for both
the us
usee of drugs.
both
and society
society as
äs aawhole
whole to
to approach
approach AIDS
AIDS objectiobjectiindividuals and
vely.
vely.
The fact
fact is
is:: HIV
HIV infection
infection and AIDS have not spread
spreadamong
among
The
population" to the degree
degree once
oncefeared.
feared. Most
the "general
"general population"
S have been among
among homosexual
homosexual men and user
cases of AID
AIDS
userss
Most ofthose
ofthose affected
af fected acquired
acquired the infection years
of drugs. Most
years
at aatime
time when
when only
only little
little was
was known
known about
about both
both paths
paths
ago, at
methods of protection
protection..
of infection an
andd methods
In order
order to minimize the ris
all
In
riskk of infection amon
amongg all
sectionsof
the population
population education
education isisnowasimportantas
sections
ofthe
now as important as
The success
success of
of any education
education on AIDS depends
depends upon
upon the
th e
ever. The
open recognition o
of homosexual
behavior,
open
off the existence
existence of
homosexual behavior,
take drugs,
drugs, and
and that
that people pay
or
of the fact that people take
payor
take money for sex
Only people who ar
accepted as
äs they
take
sex. .Only
aree accepted
can be
be adequately
adequately informed.
informed. Informatio
n on paths
paths of
of
Information
are can
infection and
and means of protection
protection wil
be able
able to
to reac
infection
willl not be
reachh
people
people who mus
mustt fear rejection, punishment, an
andd people
be afraid
afraid of avoidance
because of HI
V infection.
infection.
who mus
mustt be
avoidance because
HIV
We must also
also recognize
recognize that
that there
there are
people with
with HIV
are people
We
and with
with AIDS
AIDS among us:
us: fellow
fellow students,
students, workers,
workers, neighneighand
bours, relatives,
relatives,and
and friends.
friends. They
They have
have aarightto
rightto education,
education,
bours,
employment, housing,
housing, material security,
security,and
and proper
proper medical
employment,
medical
care, as
äs well
well äs
to specia
care by
by people they trust. The
The
care,
as to
speciall care
these rights is
an important
important factor
factor iinn preventrealization of these
is an
and the miser
affected by
by HIV.
HIV.IfIf
isolationn and
miseryy of those affected
ing the Isolatio
succeed in
in reducing unfounded fears
fears of infectio
n an
in
we succeed
infection
andd in
overcoming prejudices
prejudices against
against minorities,
minorities, ou
society will
will
ourr society
overcoming
divided bbyy AIDS.
not bbee divided
What
is AIDS?
WhatisAIDS?
^.*u
AIDS-Hilfee.v.,
e.V., Nestorstr.
Nestorstr.8-9,
8-9, D-1000
Berlin 31,
31,
Deutsche AIDS-Hilfe
0 -1000 Berlin
Apotheker- und .A.rzte-Bank,
Ärzte-Bank, Berlin,
Berlin,
Deutsche Apotheker0 35
35 00 500
500 (BLZ
(BLZ10090603);
100 906 03);
Konto 00
000
Berlin West,
West, Konto
Konto 17
9 00-105 (BLZ
(BLZ100
100100
100
Postgiroamt Berlin
17900-105
Deutsche AIDS-Hilfe
AIDS-Hilfee.v.,
e.V,Berlin,
Berlin,6.
6.Auflage
Auflage 12189
12/89
© Deutsche
Detlev Pusch
Gestaltung
Pusch Gestaltung
.... .....It ..
There are "AIDS-Hilfen" (AIDS assistance organizations)
in many
many cities
eitles in
in West
West Germany
Germanyas
äswell
wellas
äsininWest
WestBerlin.
Berlin.
in
offer telephone
teiephone advice and
and personal
personal counseling
counseling and
and
They offer
support.
support.
.c
u
.!!!
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AIDS-Hilfe e.V.
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e.v.
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