Condoms cannot prevent HIV? Are you aware of these 6 myths about AIDS?

Today is the 33rd World AIDS Day.

Against the backdrop of the global fight against the COVID-19 epidemic, we still need to pay attention to another global pandemic that has existed for nearly 40 years - AIDS.

According to data released by the United Nations AIDS Program, there were approximately 1.7 million new HIV infections worldwide in 2019, of which 690,000 died from AIDS-related diseases. AIDS has become a major "killer" threatening the life and health of all mankind.

The powerful destructive power of AIDS has caused many people to be afraid of the word "AIDS". Fear comes from the unknown. Today we will reveal the six common misconceptions about AIDS.

01 Condoms cannot prevent HIV / Myth / Wearing condoms can indeed prevent AIDS to a large extent. According to the "2020 Most Important Information on AIDS Prevention" released by the AIDS Prevention Center of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, in recent years, more than 95% of newly diagnosed HIV-infected people in my country were infected through sexual contact. Therefore, wearing condoms is an effective means of preventing AIDS.

02
Hugging and eating together can infect you with HIV /Misconception/Hugging, eating together and other daily contact will not infect you with HIV, but unprotected sex, sharing needles or sharing unsterilized tattoo equipment will increase the risk of HIV infection.

03 If the test paper shows positive, it means that you have HIV /Misconception/The test paper can only be used for preliminary understanding and cannot be used as a basis for diagnosis. You need to go to a regular medical unit to test whether the HIV antibody is positive, and then test whether there is virus replication. Combined with clinical symptoms, physical signs and medical history, a final conclusion can be drawn.

04
Homosexuality is AIDS/Misconception/Anyone can be infected with HIV, men, women, children, homosexuals or heterosexuals, it is not unique to homosexuals. It should be noted that excessive fear and rejection of homosexuality will increase the concealment of homosexuals and increase the difficulty of preventing and treating AIDS.

05 AIDS patients cannot have children/Misconception/As long as you bravely take antiviral treatment, you can greatly reduce the chance of transmitting HIV to the fetus. It is important to note that: breastfeeding should be avoided after childbirth, mixed feeding should be stopped, artificial feeding should be insisted on, and free HIV antibody testing should be done at the 12th and 18th months of the baby's life.

06 Vaccination can prevent AIDS/Misconception/Currently, there is no AIDS vaccine in clinical use in the world. To prevent HIV infection, we cannot rely on vaccines, but need to start by blocking its transmission pathways, such as regulating sexual behavior and using condoms correctly.

Although there are currently no drugs or vaccines to treat and prevent AIDS, good news keeps coming.

In 2007, an American received a bone marrow transplant in the German capital of Berlin, and the HIV was cleared from his body. He was called the "Berlin patient."

In March 2019, a British AIDS patient was found to be free of HIV in his body after receiving bone marrow stem cells donated from someone who was resistant to the HIV virus. 30 months after stopping medication, the virus was still not found. He was called the "London Patient."

On July 7, 2020, the official website of Science published a report that an HIV-infected person known as the "São Paulo Patient" is clearing the HIV in his body through drug treatment and may become the world's third person cured of AIDS.

Although the number of cured patients is only "accidental", most AIDS patients still need to take medication for life. But for them, with the development of AIDS diagnosis and treatment, AIDS has become a chronic disease. As long as they are discovered and treated early and take medication regularly, they can live a dignified and quality life, and their survival time can be close to their expected life expectancy.

What we ordinary people can do is to eliminate misunderstandings, correctly understand AIDS, and at the same time create a relatively "friendly, relaxed, and understanding" social environment for AIDS patients, help them to be self-reliant, not abandon or give up, and face the future positively.