HIV and AIDS

HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is a virus that damages the cells in your immune system and weakens your ability to fight everyday infections and disease.

AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) is the name used to describe a number of potentially life-threatening infections and illnesses that happen when your immune system has been severely damaged by the HIV virus.

While AIDS cannot be transmitted from 1 person to another, the HIV virus can.

There’s currently no cure for HIV, but there are very effective drug treatments that enable most people with the virus to live a long and healthy life.

With an early diagnosis and effective treatments, most people with HIV will not develop any AIDS-related illnesses and will live a near-normal lifespan.

Living with HIV

If you’re living with HIV, taking effective HIV treatment and being undetectable significantly reduces your risk of passing HIV on to others.

You’ll also be encouraged to:

• take regular exercise
• eat a healthy diet
• stop smoking
• have yearly flu jabs to minimise the risk of getting serious illnesses

Without treatment, the immune system will become severely damaged, and life-threatening illnesses such as cancer and severe infections can occur.

Preventing HIV

Anyone who has sex without a condom or shares needles is at risk of HIV infection.

There are many effective ways to prevent or reduce the risk of HIV infection, including:

• using a condom for sex
• post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP)
• pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP)
• treatment for HIV to reduce the viral load to undetectable
• if you use drugs, never sharing needles or other injecting equipment, including syringes, spoons and swabs

For more information about HIV and AIDS, getting tested or further support, please visit the NHS website.