You CAN get HIV by:
 

• Sexual intercourse with a person infected with the virus (including vaginal, anal and oral intercourse ---> USE CONDOMS).
• Through contact with infected blood (including needles and less frequently cuts, open sores...).
• Through blood transfusion or products (that's how the Ray Brothers got it!), organ transplants and artificial insemination (of course all the blood supplies and other organs, tissue, sperm are now tested for HIV before being distributed to the public).
• A baby can be infected if his mother has the virus (also by breast feeding).

You CAN'T get HIV by:
 

• Breathing.
• Sitting next to someone.
• Hugging.
• Sharing bathrooms.
• Touching something that has been touched by someone with HIV.
• Kissing.
• In swimming pools.
• Giving blood.
• Eating food prepared by an HIV-infected person.
• Simply playing with HIV-infected children.
• Looking at someone with HIV.
• Being nice to an HIV-infected person.

You can AVOID being infected with HIV by:
 

• Using protection -condoms- during any and every sexual intercourse
• Abstaining from sex (which could be a problem for many people!!! if so... go back to the first solution)

The SYMPTOMS for HIV are:
 

• Fevers
• Diarrhea
• Loss of appetite
• Weight loss or gain
• Tiredness
• Unusual infections
• White spots in the mouth
• Chronic lymph node swelling

General facts about AIDS and HIV:
 

• more than 6.4 million people have died from AIDS including more than 1.3 million children.
• Everyday, 1,600 children under the age of 15 worldwide are infected with HIV.
• Every minute, 5 people become infected with HIV.
• More than 30 million people are living with HIV/AIDS.
• AIDS is the second leading cause of death among Americans aged 25-44.
• Young people under 25 make 50% of all new HIV infections in the US.