| AIDS is caused by a virus
called HIV. The virus is found mainly in blood, semen, vaginal secretion, and in saliva
(only very small quantity). HIV does
not pass easily through the intact skin but may penetrate the mucous membranes lining the
oral cavity (mouth) and the rectum (back passage), which are much thinner. The risk of
infection is increased if there are open wounds on the skin or mucous membrane.
Anal sex, including homosexual and heterosexual
rectal intercourse, carries a very high risk because there is frequent injury of the
rectal mucosa (membrane lining the back passage).
An AIDS carrier may not have any symptom and cannot
be identified by any external feature.
Any sexual partner can potentially be an AIDS carrier if he or she has other sexual
contacts in the past.
The risk of infection is proportional to:
i) the number of sexual partners (especially if the partner is promiscuous or abuses
intravenous drugs).
ii) the promiscuity of the sexual partner(s)
iii) the degree of exposure to the partner's body fluids, especially semen, blood
and vaginal secretion
iv) the extent of injury during sexual intercourse. |
