HIV is spread primarily by:

Not using a condom when having sex with a person who has HIV. All unprotected sex with someone who has HIV contains
some risk. However:
o Unprotected anal sex is riskier than unprotected vaginal sex.
o Among men who have sex with other men, unprotected receptive anal sex is riskier than unprotected insertive anal
sex.
Having multiple sex partners or the presence of other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) can increase the risk of infection
during sex. Unprotected oral sex can also be a risk for HIV transmission, but it is a much lower risk than anal or vaginal sex.
Sharing needles, syringes, rinse water, or other equipment used to prepare illicit drugs for injection.
Being born to an infected motherHIV can be passed from mother to child during pregnancy, birth, or breast-feeding.
Less common modes of transmission include:
Being stuck with an HIV-contaminated needle or other sharp object. This risk pertains mainly to healthcare workers.
Receiving blood transfusions, blood products, or organ/tissue transplants that are contaminated with HIV. This risk is extremely
remote due to the rigorous testing of the U.S. blood supply and donated organs/tissue.
HIV may also be transmitted through unsafe or unsanitary injections or other medical or dental practices. However, the risk is
also remote with current safety standards in the U.S.
Eating food that has been pre-chewed by an HIV-infected person. The contamination occurs when infected blood from a
caregivers mouth mixes with food while chewing. This appears to be a rare occurrence and has only been documented among
infants whose caregiver gave them pre-chewed food.
Being bitten by a person with HIV. Each of the very small number of cases has included severe trauma with extensive tissue
damage and the presence of blood. There is no risk of transmission if the skin is not broken.
Contact between broken skin, wounds, or mucous membranes and HIV-infected blood or blood-contaminated body fluids.
These reports have also been extremely rare.
There is an extremely remote chance that HIV could be transmitted during French or deep, open-mouth kissing with an HIV-
infected person if the HIV-infected persons mouth or gums are bleeding.
Tattooing or body piercing present a potential risk of HIV transmission, but no cases of HIV transmission from these activities
have been documented. Only sterile equipment should be used for tattooing or body piercing.
There have been a few documented cases in Europe and North Africa where infants have been infected by unsafe injections
and then transmitted HIV to their mothers through breastfeeding. There have been no documented cases of this mode of
transmission in the U.S.
HIV cannot reproduce outside the human body. It is not spread by:
Air or water.
Insects, including mosquitoes. Studies conducted by CDC researchers and others have shown no evidence of HIV transmission
from insects.
Saliva, tears, or sweat. There is no documented case of HIV being transmitted by spitting.
Casual contact like shaking hands or sharing dishes.
Closed-mouth or social kissing.



HOW DO YOU GET HIV?
HIV is found in specific human body fluids. If any of those fluids enter your body, you can become infected
with HIV.
WHICH BODY FLUIDS CONTAIN HIV?
HIV lives and reproduces in blood and other body fluids. We know that the following fluids can contain high
levels of HIV:
Blood
Semen (cum)
Pre-seminal fluid (pre-cum)
Breast milk
Vaginal fluids
Rectal (anal) mucous
Other body fluids and waste productslike feces, nasal fluid, saliva, sweat, tears, urine, or vomitdont
contain enough HIV to infect you, unless they have blood mixed in them and you have significant and direct
contact with them.
For more information, see CDCs HIV Transmission: Which Body Fluids Transmit HIV?
Healthcare workers may be exposed to some other body fluids with high concentrations of HIV, including:
Amniotic fluid
Cerebrospinal fluid
Synovial fluid
HOW IS HIV TRANSMITTED THROUGH
BODY FLUIDS?
HIV is transmitted through body fluids in very specific ways:

During sexual contact: When you have anal, oral, or vaginal sex with a partner, you will usually have
contact with your partners body fluids. If your partner has HIV, those body fluids can deliver the virus
into your bloodstream through microscopic breaks or rips in the delicate linings of your vagina, vulva,
penis, rectum, or mouth. Rips in these areas are very common and mostly unnoticeable. HIV can also
enter through open sores, like those caused by herpes or syphilis, if infected body fluids get in them.
You need to know that its much easier to get HIV (or to give it to someone else), if you have a sexually
transmitted disease (STD). For more information, see CDC's The Role Of STD Detection And
Treatment In HIV Prevention.

During pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding: Babies have constant contact with their mothers
body fluids-including amniotic fluid and blood-throughout pregnancy and childbirth. After birth, infants
can get HIV from drinking infected breast milk.

As a result of injection drug use: Injecting drugs puts you in contact with blood-your own and others,
if you share needles and works. Needles or drugs that are contaminated with HIV-infected blood can
deliver the virus directly into your body.

As a result of occupational exposure: Healthcare workers have the greatest risk for this type of HIV
transmission. If you work in a healthcare setting, you can come into contact with infected blood or other
fluids through needle sticks or cuts. A few healthcare workers have been infected when body fluids
splashed into their eyes, mouth, or into an open sore or cut.

As a result of a blood transfusion with infected blood or an organ transplant from an infected
donor: Screening requirements make both of these forms of HIV transmission very rare in the United
States.

HOW DO YOU GET AIDS?
AIDS is the late stage of HIV infection, when a persons immune system is severely damaged and has
difficulty fighting diseases and certain cancers. Before the development of certain medications, people with
HIV could progress to AIDS in just a few years. Currently, people can live much longer - even decades - with
HIV before they develop AIDS. This is because of highly active combinations of medications that were
introduced in the mid 1990s. Read more about how HIV causes AIDS










V/AIDS Transmission
HIV is transmitted when the virus enters the body, usually by injecting infected cells or semen.
There are several possible ways in which the virus can enter.
Most commonly, HIV infection is spread by having sex with an infected partner. The virus can
enter the body through the lining of the vagina, vulva, penis, rectum, or mouth during sex.
Although intercourse is the primary risk factor, oral sex transmission is also possible.
HIV frequently spreads among injection-drug users who share needles or syringes that are
contaminated with blood from an infected person.
Women can transmit HIV to their babies during pregnancy or birth, when infected maternal
cells enter the baby's circulation, or through breastfeeding.
HIV can be spread in health-care settings through accidental needle sticks or contact with
contaminated fluids.
Very rarely, HIV spreads through transfusion of contaminated blood or blood components. All
blood products are tested to minimize this risk. If tissues or organs from an infected person are
transplanted, the recipient may acquire HIV. Donors are now tested for HIV to minimize this
risk.
HIV has been spread when organs from an infected person are transplanted into an
uninfected recipient. Because donors are tested for HIV routinely in the United States, this
does not usually happen. However, a recent incident in Taiwan occurred when the HIV test
results for the donor were mistakenly thought to have been negative.
People who already have a sexually transmitted infections, such as syphilis, genital herpes,
chlamydial infection, human papillomavirus (HPV), gonorrhea, or bacterial vaginosis, are more
likely to acquire HIV infection during sex with an infected partner.
The virus does not spread through casual contact such as preparing food, sharing towels and
bedding, or via swimming pools, telephones, or toilet seats. The virus is also unlikely to be spread
by contact with saliva, unless it is contaminated with blood.