The HIV virus can be infected with blood, sperm, breast milk, pre-ejaculatory fluid, vaginal and anal secretions. The virus is not transmitted by touch or saliva, and it cannot be contracted even in water. This was pointed out by the Ministry of Health (MOH) of the Slovak Republic on the social network. “If we get rid of the layers of prejudice that prevent the understanding and prevention of this disease, the fight against it will be much more effective,” emphasized the department.
He zoomed in on that shaking hands, hugging or any other type of similar physical contact does not transmit the virus. It is also not possible to transmit it through saliva. “Saliva may contain a certain concentration of the virus, but it is not sufficient to transmit the infection,” the ministry explained.
You cannot get infected with the virus, for example, even in water. “Outside the host’s body, the HIV virus survives for an extremely short time. In water, whether in a pool, lake or sea, it loses its ability to infect. In addition, chlorine or disinfection in swimming pools will destroy the virus,” the department explained. It is also a myth, according to him, that HIV could be transmitted by mosquitoes.
“Such a scenario is unrealistic for two main reasons – HIV does not survive in mosquitoes because of its different genetic makeup compared to human DNA. The second is that mosquitoes do not inject the blood they have previously ‘sucked’ from another person into the skin, but their saliva to prevent the blood from clotting. Mosquito saliva does not contain blood,” the ministry said.
It added that a person infected with HIV does not automatically have AIDS. “AIDS is the advanced 3rd stage of HIV infection. Current available treatment can keep the virus under control, prevent the weakening of the infected person’s immunity and completely stop the development of the disease to the AIDS stage,” explained the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic. Slovakia belongs to the EU countries with the lowest annual incidence of HIV infection. As of June 30, 1,327 people with HIV were registered.
