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HIV 101

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​CATIE
HIV in Canada: A primer for service providers




DEfinitions:

HIV
  • Human: Can only be passed between humans
  • Immuno-deficiency: It makes the immune system deficient (not work properly)
  • Virus: Infectious agent that copies itself only within a living host
The HIV virus is only transferred through human body fluids such as blood, semen, vaginal secretions, and breast milk.


AIDS
  • Acquired: To get
  • Immune: The system the virus attacks
  • Deficiency: A breakdown / weakening
  • Syndrome: A group of symptoms that together make up a specific disease or disorder

transmission:

HIV needs an entry way into the bloodstream, which can occur in these ways:
  • Blood to Blood: Intravenous drug use or other drug equipment
  • Sexual Fluids: Semen or vaginal fluids during vaginal, anal, or oral sex
  • Vertical Transmission: during pregnancy, birth or through breast milk when the mother is HIV positive
  • Once inside the body, HIV attaches itself to white blood cells (CD4 cell – ones which fight off infection)

Stages of infection:

  • Immediately following initial contraction of HIV: The virus multiplies quickly, individuals are HIGHLY infectious
  • Three Month Window Period: HIV not detectable in tests (test for anti-bodies)
  • Asymptomatic: Virus slows down, gets comfortable in body, there are no symptoms
  • Symptomatic: If HIV is not treated with anti-retroviral medication one can progress to a diagnosis of having AIDS. This progression leaves you vulnerable to more infections than normal due to lowered immune function and if left untreated can eventually lead to death.

prevention:

The best ways to stop the spread of HIV from one person to another is by doing the following:
  • Using latex or polyurethane male or female condoms, dams and/or gloves during any sexual contact
  • Not sharing any kind of drug paraphernalia – needles, syringes, filters, water, crack pipes, etc.
  • You and your partner both getting tested for HIV & other STI’s before engaging in unprotected sex
  • Getting tested prior to pregnancy
  • Not breastfeeding if mother has HIV or AIDS
You cannot get HIV from:
  • Hugging, deep kissing, holding hands
  • Being in a sweat or a sauna, or swimming with someone who has HIV
  • Sharing a towel, using the same toilet, or using the same utensils
  • Sharing in a talking circle or wiping away a tear
  • Brushing or braiding hair
  • Or any other casual contact with someone who has HIV/AIDS

testing:

  • Nominal Testing: The practitioner orders the test using the person’s name.
  • Anonymous Testing: The name/identity of the person being tested is not requested, recorded or reported. The test is ordered using a code for the individual being tested.
We recommend Anonymous Testing, as it includes pre & post-test counseling. You can choose either POC HIV (Rapid) Testing or Standard HIV Testing:
Point-of-Care (POC) HIV Testing (Rapid Test): is done on-site & includes only a screening test. Results are available while you wait. If the test POC test is reactive (a possible positive result), then the Standard HIV test must be ordered to confirm the results.
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The Standard HIV Test is a two-part test done by the public health laboratory. The first test, a screening test, is very sensitive. If reactive – it is screened a second time. If the second screen is also reactive, then the sample is tested again using a test that rules out everything except HIV. It takes up to two weeks to receive test results. Both tests are extremely accurate.
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Did you know?

According to the Laboratory Centre for Disease Control, Aboriginal AIDS cases are younger than non-Aboriginal cases, and the proportion of women among adult Aboriginal AIDS cases is higher than the non-Aboriginal AIDS cases. All available evidence suggests that Aboriginal people are infected with HIV earlier than non-Aboriginal people yet are diagnosed later in the HIV/AIDS Medicine Wheel, that injection drug use is a significant method of transmission of HIV and that the HIV epidemic among Aboriginal people shows no sign of abating. The high degree of movement of Aboriginal people between urban and rural areas may bring the risk of HIV to even the most remote Aboriginal communities.

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TESTING SITES

  • Algoma Health Unit :                     705-541-7100
  • Anishnawbe Health Toronto :  416-360-0486
  • Bay Centre for Birth Control at the Women’s College Hospital :       416-351-3700
  • Birth Control and Venereal Disease Information Centre:     416-789-4541
  • Central Toronto Community Health Centre, Queen West:                 416-703-8482
  • Centre Francophone de Toronto : 416-922-2672
  • Chatham-Kent Health Unit
  • Dundas Sexual Health Clinic:    905-628-3000
  • East End (Stoney Creek) Clinic: 905-546-3750
  • Elgin-St. Thomas Health Unit:   519-631-9971
  • Halton Health Department  (Acton, Milton, Georgetown & Burlington):                                    905-825-6065
  • Hamilton Public Health:                 905-528-5894
  • Hamilton General Hospital STD and Anonymous HIV Clinic:         905-546-3541
  • Hassle Free Clinic :                          416-922-0566 (women)                      or: 416-922-0603 (men)
  • Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox and Addington Health Unit:         613-549-1232
  • London Inter Community Health Centre:                                              519-673-4427
  • Mississauga, Peel Health Department:                                   905-799-7700
  • Mountain Clinic:                             905-546-3274
  • Niagara Public Health:                       905-688-3817
  • Ottawa Public Health:                   613-563-2437
  • Ottawa, Centretown Community Health Centre:                                 613-563-2437
  • Ottawa, Sandy Hill Community Health Centre:                                613-563-2437
  • Ottawa, Somerset West Community Health Centre:           613-563-2437
  • Rexdale Community Health Centre:                                           416-744-0066
  • Simcoe Muskoka District Health: 705-721-7520
  • Street Health Clinics, Wesley Centre:                                             905-777-7852
  • Sudbury and District Health Unit : 705-522-9200
  • Toronto Public Health :                 416-338-7600
  • Anishnawbe Health Toronto:                        416-360-0486
  • Toronto, Bay Centre for Birth Control, Women’s College Hospital:                                            416-351-3700
  • Toronto, Birth Control & Venereal Disease Information Centre:                  416-789-4541
  • Toronto, Central Toronto Community Health Centres:     416-703-8482
  • Thunder Bay District Health Unit: 807-625-5981
  • Urban Core Community Health Centre:                                               905-546-3541
  • Waterloo, Region of Waterloo Public Health:                               519-883-2251
  • Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Health Unit:                                     519-846-2715
  • Windsor-Essex County Health Unit:                                                 519-258-2146
  • Windsor Regional Hospital, Metropolitan Campus:                 519-254-6115
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