back to top HIV Transmission & Testing
HIV is transmitted through blood and body fluids like semen and vaginal fluids. The virus can enter the body via contact with the bloodstream or by passing through delicate mucous membranes, such as inside the vagina, rectum or urethra. HIV testing or an HIV test usually done in laboratories or using special testing kits can detect the presence of HIV in a person's blood.
Because HIV is lives in blood as well as in body fluids like semen and vaginal fluids, blood or bodily fluids from an infected person need to get inside an uninfected person's body for an infection to occur (contact with saliva has never been known to transmit HIV).
The most common ways that people become infected with
HIV are:
1. Through having unprotected, sexual intercourse with an
infected partner; 2. Through injecting drugs, using an
unsterilised needle or syringe that has been used by someone
who is infected; and 3. As a baby of an HIV-infected mother,
during pregnancy, labour or delivery, or through breastfeeding.
This page points to information and resources about how HIV is transmitted and how to get tested as well as providing answers to commonly asked questions around HIV transmission. Common HIV transmission questions include whether or not HIV infection has symptoms, whether HIV affects certain people only, among others. Use this information to dispel myths around HIV transmission. Myths, and misinformation cause anxiety and fear and lead to discrimination of people living with HIV.