Causes of HIV and AIDS, plus various risk factors

HIV / AIDS is still closely related to a disease that often affects commercial sex workers, people who engage in “free sex”, gay men (homosexual), and drug users. However, did you know that there are other groups who also have the same risk of contracting HIV as those mentioned above? Actually, everyone in the world has the same risk of HIV / AIDS if they do not take certain precautions. This is because the cause of HIV and AIDS is not only from unprotected sex.

Find out more about the various causes of HIV and AIDS and who is most at risk of contracting this disease to prevent HIV transmission from becoming more widespread.

Recognizing the virus that causes HIV and AIDS

HIV is an infectious disease that is transmitted through certain body fluids. The main cause of HIV itself is Human Immunodeficiency Virus. The virus that causes HIV is spread through certain activities that allow the exchange or transfer of body fluids from one person to another.

Among the many body fluids produced by humans, blood, semen (male ejaculatory fluid), pre-ejaculatory fluid, anal fluid (rectum), vaginal fluids, and breast milk are the most susceptible to mediating the spread of the virus that causes HIV.

HIV is a virus that attacks CD4 cells in the immune system. CD4 cells or T cells are a type of white blood cell that serve as the body's first line of defense to fight infection. Humans can produce millions of T cells every day to maintain immunity.

Once HIV enters your body, the virus will "hijack" healthy CD4 cells and continue to multiply. Eventually, infected CD4 cells swell, burst, and destroy. If the CD4 cell count continues to drop below 200 per milliliter of blood, the condition will develop into AIDS.

The way the virus that causes HIV and AIDS causes disease

HIV is a chronic disease. The viruses that cause HIV and AIDS will remain in your blood for life if not controlled.

As long as it is in the body, the virus that causes HIV will continue to multiply and weaken your immune system. This condition can make you very susceptible to chronic diseases and serious opportunistic infections.

When it comes to how long it takes for the virus that causes HIV to trigger infection, the general answer is about 72 hours after first exposure. However, the body usually does not experience HIV symptoms immediately when it is infected with the virus that causes the disease.

The two main causes of HIV and AIDS activities

The virus that causes HIV is spread from one person to another through bodily fluids, such as blood, semen, pre-ejaculatory fluids and vaginal fluids.

The exchange of these four body fluids is very common during sexual intercourse. Blood transfer can also easily occur from the use of non-sterile needles, which in fact is often seen in injecting drug users.

These two types of risky activities are the main causes of HIV. Here's a more complete explanation:

1. Unsafe sexual activity

The virus that causes HIV is susceptible to being transmitted sexually; most commonly through vaginal sex (penis to vagina) and anal sex (penis to anus).

Penile-to-vaginal penetration is the most common route of HIV transmission among heterosexuals, while transmission through anal sex is most common for gay groups.

Sexual intercourse is the most common cause of HIV and AIDS because this activity allows the exchange of body fluids, such as semen, anal fluids, and vaginal fluids, which carry the virus from a person with a person to a healthy person.

The risk of transmission is higher, especially if a healthy sex partner has open sores or blisters on the skin, genitals, or other soft tissue, while sexual activity is carried out without using a condom.

What about oral sex? Oral sex can also be an intermediary for the spread of the viruses that cause HIV and AIDS. However, the risk is low because saliva contains very little virus. The risk of contracting it can be higher if the non-HIV person has an open sore in his mouth, such as canker sores on the lips or tongue or bleeding gums.

If you are classified as sexually active, the risk of transmitting the virus that causes HIV / AIDS is also high if you have multiple sex partners.

2. Use of non-sterile needles

One of the causes that is closely related to the HIV epidemic in Indonesia is the use of used syringes in turn for illegal drugs. Types of drugs commonly consumed by injection include cocaine and methamphetamine (shabu-shabu or "meth").

Needles that have been used by other people will leave traces of blood. Well, the virus that causes HIV can survive in the needle for approximately 42 days after first contact.

Blood residue left on the needle can enter the body of the needle wearer then through the injection wound. Therefore, it is possible that a single used needle can be an intermediary for the transfer of the HIV virus to many people at the same time or different.

Drug use by injection is a direct route of transmission. However, other risky behaviors associated with drug use, such as drinking alcohol, smoking and casual sex are also associated with an increased risk of HIV and AIDS causes.

These risky behaviors can increase the risk of HIV by blurring logic and reducing users' awareness of reasoning. In people who have been infected, these behaviors can accelerate HIV progression and have a negative impact on HIV treatment.

Using equipment to make tattoos or body piercings - including ink - that is not sterile or clean can also be a cause of HIV AIDS behavior.

People who are at risk of contracting the virus that causes HIV

From the above explanation, the risk of HIV transmission appears to be most prevalent and common in people who have sex without a condom and who use drugs.

However, based on a 2017 Ministry of Health report, there is an increasing trend in the number of new HIV cases among children and housewives. Why is that?

1. Housewives

Until now, not a few housewives have been diagnosed with HIV.

As quoted from the Jakarta Globe, Emi Yuliana from the Surabaya AIDS Prevention Commission said the number of housewives living with HIV / AIDS had increased more than the group of female commercial sex workers. Even according to the Head of the Bogor Regional AIDS Agency, around 60% of HIV / AIDS sufferers in Bogor City are housewives.

This is probably due to sexual relations with HIV-positive partners and the lack of interventions on the prevention of the causes of HIV and AIDS in housewives. In contrast to the prevention efforts of commercial sex workers which are more encouraged.

The main known obstacle is the refusal to take an HIV / AIDS test after marriage, especially for most pregnant women or those planning to become pregnant. Rejection usually occurs because they feel embarrassed, taboo, or feel that neither they nor their partners have had sexual relations with other people.

Only less than 10% are willing to take an HIV test after marriage.

2. Health workers

Other groups who are at high risk of being infected with the virus that causes HIV are health care center workers, such as doctors, nurses, laboratory workers, and health facility waste cleaners. The cause of HIV in medical institutions usually comes from infected blood.

The blood of an HIV positive patient can transmit HIV to these health workers through open wounds.

There are several ways the virus that causes HIV can be transmitted to health workers, namely:

If a syringe that has been used by a patient infected with the virus that causes HIV accidentally sticks to a health worker (also called needle-stick injury)
If blood is contaminated with the virus that causes HIV on mucous membranes such as the eyes, nose and mouth.
If the blood is contaminated with the virus that causes HIV in an open wound.

Transmission of the virus that causes HIV to health workers can be prevented by:

Use personal protection such as masks, special hospital clothes, goggle or special glasses, and gloves.
Always cover open wounds with a bandage or bandage.
Always use caution when handling sharp objects.
Throw away hospital waste that has the potential to transfer the virus that causes HIV (such as syringes for example) to a solid or hard trash can, not just in plastic because the sharp tip of the syringe can stick out.
Clean the stained blood as soon as possible.
Always wash your hands with cleaning fluid after making contact with patients, especially if they come into contact with the patient's blood.

3. Babies

Pregnant women who have HIV can pass the virus on to their babies.

The virus that causes HIV and AIDS can be transferred while the baby is still in the fetus, during birth, and while breastfeeding. This mother-to-child transmission is the leading cause of HIV AIDS in children.

The causes of HIV AIDS that is transmitted from mother to baby can actually be prevented, if:

Women living with HIV receive HIV treatment during pregnancy and during childbirth or specifically schedule a cesarean delivery. Caesarean section minimizes the transmission of the virus that causes HIV such as the possibility of mother's body fluids infecting the baby during the birth process.
Babies born to mothers who have HIV are then given HIV drugs for 6 weeks after birth and are not breastfed. To avoid the virus that causes HIV, infected mothers are advised not to breastfeed their babies and replace breast milk with formula milk as an option to meet the baby's nutritional needs.

HIV medicines reduce the amount of the virus that causes HIV in the body. Reducing the number of viruses that cause HIV can directly reduce the chances of HIV transmission to infants during the womb and during the birth process. Medicines can be transferred across the placenta to protect the baby from infection with the virus that causes HIV.