Public Health

There are several ways to prevent the transmission of HIV:

1. Practicing safe sex by using condoms correctly and consistently during sexual activity.
2. Avoid sharing needles or other injection equipment.
3. Getting tested and treated for sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.
4. Considering pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), a medication that can reduce the risk of getting HIV, if you are at high risk of infection.
5. If you are HIV-positive, take antiretroviral therapy (ART) as prescribed to reduce the risk of transmitting the virus to others.

AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) is a transmissible disease of the immune system caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). HIV slowly attacks and destroys the immune system, leaving an individual vulnerable to a variety of other infections and certain malignancies that eventually cause death.

HIV is primarily a sexually transmitted disease (STD), transmitted by heterosexual and homosexual practices: anal, vaginal, and oral sex. It can also be transmitted through blood contact or from mother to child during pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding.

There is no cure for HIV infection. However, with access to effective HIV prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and care, including for opportunistic infections, HIV infection has become a manageable chronic health condition, enabling people living with HIV to lead long and healthy lives.

Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) that can cause serious health problems without treatment. It develops in four stages: primary, secondary, latent, and tertiary.

1. In the primary stage, painless sores called chancres appear at the site of infection (mouth, anus, rectum, vagina, or penis). The sores heal on their own after 3 to 6 weeks, but you can still spread syphilis.

2. In the secondary stage, symptoms include a rough red or reddish-brown rash on the palms of hands and soles of feet, swollen lymph nodes, fever, sore throat, patchy hair loss, headaches, and body aches, and extreme tiredness (fatigue). These symptoms will go away even if you don’t get treated. But if you’re not treated, your infection will get worse.

3. During the latent stage, the syphilis bacteria are still alive in your body, but you have no signs or symptoms of the infection. You’re not contagious during this stage, but syphilis may still affect your heart, brain, nerves, bones, and other parts of your body. This phase can last for years.

4. The tertiary (late) stage begins when symptoms from the secondary stage disappear. Syphilis isn’t contagious at this point, but the infection has started to affect your organs. This can lead to death. Symptoms of tertiary syphilis may include problems controlling muscle movements, numbness, vision problems (you may start going blind), and dementia.