En Español HIV transmission can occur when blood, semen (cum), pre-seminal fluid (pre-cum),
vaginal fluid, or breast milk from an infected person enters the body of an
uninfected person.
HIV can enter the body through a vein (e.g., injection drug use), the lining
of the anus or rectum, the lining of the vagina and/or cervix, the opening to
the penis, the mouth, other mucous membranes (e.g., eyes or inside of the nose),
or cuts and sores. Intact, healthy skin is an excellent barrier against HIV and
other viruses and bacteria.
These are the most common ways that HIV is transmitted
from one person to another:
- by having sex
(anal, vaginal, or oral) with an HIV-infected person;
- by sharing needles
or injection equipment with an injection drug user who is infected with
HIV; or
- from HIV-infected women
to their babies before or during birth, or through breast-feeding after
birth.
HIV also can be transmitted through receipt of
infected blood or blood clotting
factors. However, since 1985, all donated blood in the United States has
been tested for HIV. Therefore, the risk of infection through transfusion
of blood
or blood products is extremely low. The U.S. blood supply is considered
to be among the safest in the world.
For more information, see "How
safe is the blood supply in the United
States?")
Some health-care workers have become infected after being stuck with needles
containing HIV-infected blood or, less frequently when infected blood comes
in contact with a worker's open cut or is splashed into a worker's eyes or
inside their nose. There has been only one instance of patients being infected
by an HIV-infected dentist to his patients.
For more
information, see "Are health care workers at risk of getting
HIV on the job?" and "Are patients in a health care setting at
risk of getting HIV?" If you would like more information or have
personal concerns, call CDC-INFO 24
Hours/Day at 1-800-CDC-INFO (232-4636), 1-888-232-6348 (TTY), in English,
en Español. |