Post Date September, 24 2023
The transmission route of AIDS is AIDS patients and HIV carriers. AIDS virus exists in the body fluids and organ tissues of infected persons, and infected persons' blood, semen, vaginal secretions, milk, wound exudates contain a large number of AIDS virus, which is highly infectious. Tears, saliva, sweat, urine, feces, etc., without mixing with blood and inflammatory exudates, contain very little of this virus and are not contagious.
Transmission route:
1. Sexual contact transmission
Sexually transmitted AIDS virus exists in the semen and vaginal secretions of infected persons, and is transmitted between men and women through sexual intercourse (including normal sexual intercourse, anal intercourse and oral sex). In the world, 9 out of every 10 adults infected with AIDS virus are infected through sexual intercourse. The more sexual partners, the greater the risk of AIDS infection. People with sexually transmitted diseases are easy to catch AIDS virus when having sex with people infected with AIDS virus.
Sexual contact transmission is the main route of HIV infection. The transmission of HIV can occur in both homosexual and heterosexual sexual intercourse. Worldwide, HIV is mostly transmitted through heterosexual contact. The rate of HIV transmission among adults is shown in the table:
Transmission rate through transmission channels
71% of heterosexual transmission
Homosexual transmission 15%
Intravenous drug users 7%
Bloodborne transmission 5%
Other reasons unknown 2%
In North America and Europe, sexual contact between male homosexuals through the anus is the main mode of transmission of this disease. Homosexual and bisexual men are the main group of people infected with HIV. In the early 1980s, AIDS patients found in the United States were mainly gay men. Anal sexual intercourse between male homosexuals is easy to cause anal and rectal mucosal trauma, which opens the channel for AIDS virus to enter the blood, allowing semen containing a large amount of HIV and male secretion before ejaculation to enter the blood circulation through the damaged mucosa. In addition, male homosexuals often exchange sexual partners, with some having tens or hundreds of sexual partners, which increases the chance of HIV infection. In Africa, Latin American countries and Southeast Asia, the vast majority of AIDS is infected through heterosexual contact and vaginal intercourse. The prevalence rate of AIDS is 1:1 between men and women. HIV transmission between the opposite sex can be divided into two pathways: male female or female male. Compared to these two pathways, the risk of male to female transmission is higher than that of female to male transmission. Both semen and cervical secretions can carry HIV. Anatomically, secretions can remain in women's bodies, rather than in men's bodies. Therefore, the transmission caused by the exchange of semen and cervical secretions is more effective in men to women. In some countries in Africa, there is a custom where the wife is inherited by the husband's brother after the husband's death, with the aim of preventing the loss of family property. However, this inheritance in Africa, where AIDS is prevalent and prosperous, has inherited a fatal dowry, namely AIDS virus, while inheriting his brother's wife. HIV positive wives can transmit the virus to their husband's brothers again, so both male to female and female to male transmission are important routes in Africa. Prostitution and whoring play an important role in the spread of AIDS. The clients carrying AIDS virus transmit the virus to prostitutes, who then transmit it to other clients. If combined with sexually transmitted diseases, the chance of spreading HIV can be greatly increased. Genital erosion and ulcers open up channels for the virus to enter the bloodstream, making the person with genital ulcers more susceptible to HIV infection. In Southeast Asia, the prevalence of prostitution has led to the rapid spread of HIV infection. For example, in Thailand, the HIV infection rate has increased at an alarming rate since 1990.
