HIV spreads only through specific body fluids from a person with detectable viral load:
- Blood
- Semen & pre-seminal fluid
- Vaginal fluids
- Rectal fluids
- Breast milk
Main Transmission Routes
- Unprotected sex: Anal (highest risk), vaginal; oral (very low risk).
- Sharing injection equipment: Needles, syringes, cookers, cotton.
- Perinatal: Pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding (preventable with ART).
- Blood transfusion/organ transplant: Extremely rare in screened supplies.
NOT Transmitted By
- Casual contact (hugging, sharing food, toilets)
- Saliva, sweat, tears (unless blood-contaminated)
- Insects (mosquitoes)
- Air or water
Prevention
- Condoms, PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis), TasP (treatment as prevention—undetectable = untransmittable)
- Sterile injection equipment
- Regular testing
Early ART enables long, healthy life and prevents transmission.
