AIDS or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is an infection that is caused by HIV or human immunodeficiency virus. So how is AIDS transmitted? The bad news at this moment is that there is no vaccine against the infection and there is no actual cure for it.

Sexual contact as a way to get infected with AIDS

Those people are at the highest risks of contracting AIDS that have intercourse without protection, those who have several sexual partners, the people having anal sex and the people who have intercourse with other people that have already been infected by HIV or an STD.

In case of America and Europe, the most common answer to how do you get AIDS is by having homosexual sexual contact. On the other hand in case of Africa the infection is commonly contracted through intercourse among heterosexual people.

How is Aids TransmittedPregnancy

Pregnant women could also pass on the infection to their babies, so this is a way to get infected with AIDS. Those women are at the greatest risks that have bisexual partners, men suffering from hemophilia that require blood transfusion, drug users or the women living in an area where the infection rate is relatively high.

When you are thinking how is AIDS transmitted, you should know that the chances of transmitting the infection are greater in case your illness is at an advanced stage.

Breastfeeding could also result in an infection, and in this case the chances increase by 10 to 20 percent. In case these women are using zidovudine, they can decrease the chances of transmission.

Contaminated blood products or blood

Blood product screening has been introduced in the 1980s and since then when you ask how do you get AIDS you don’t really have to think about this source, but it still might happen once every 100,000 cases.

Regarding the drug users, using the same needle is also a way to get infected with AIDS. Nonetheless the chances depend on the period for which the needle has been used, frequency of the sharing, the number of people sharing, and the number of users who have been already infected.

Needles used by health care professionals

According to the latest studies regarding how is AIDS transmitted, once every 250 times, it is possible to get infected by a needle stick. The chances can be decreased in case the people who are getting injected also get AZT, an antiretroviral drug that should be given with another medication.

Misbeliefs regarding how do you get AIDS

You can be sure that you can’t get infected by shaking hands with and infected person or in case you have any other kinds of interactions that aren’t sexual such as sneezing or coughing, and the blood sucking insects, like mosquitos, can’t transmit the infection either.

Other false theories about possible ways of getting infected with AIDS include kissing, sharing glasses or cups, and having protected intercourse. Nonetheless this doesn’t mean that you should make a sport of practicing these activities, because you can never know what might happen during these.