HIV infection

Dear Ask The Doctor: Does volunteering in an aids clinic increase chances of contracting HIV?

Dear Claire: The following factors are associated with an increased risk of acquiring HIV infection: Unprotected sex, receptive anal intercourse carries a particularly high risk, injection drug use (sharing needles or drug paraphernalia), occupational needle stick or body fluid splash (estimated transmission rate <0.3%), contaminated blood products (before 1985 in the United States). Around the world approximately 40 million people are currently living with HIV infection, and an estimated 25 million have died from this disease. In the United States, roughly one-third of new diagnoses appear to be related to heterosexual transmission. Male-to-male sexual contact still accounts for nearly half of new diagnoses and intravenous drug use make the remaining of the cases. 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, this is valid also for volunteering in an HIV clinic.