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Frequently Asked Questions

HIV stands for “Human Immunodeficiency Virus.” HIV is a virus that infects your immune system, most often your CD4 T cells. CD4 T cells play an important role in your immune system by basically directing the action of your different immune cells to fight off infection. You can think of CD4 T cell as the general of the army, responsible for giving out different roles and responsibilities and directing action plans. If untreated, HIV infects and destroys CD4 T cells over time, leading to decreased CD4 T cells in the body. Because of the important role CD4 T cells play in managing the immune system, when you lose your CD4 T cells, your immune system becomes weaker and less able to fight off infections it would normally be able to. These infections are referred to as “opportunistic infections” as these infections take advantage of the opportunity to infect an individual with a weakened immune system. It is actually these opportunistic infections that ultimately can result in death. HIV does not directly cause death but instead weakens the immune system to a point where the individual can no longer fight off infections and can succumb to these severe infectious illnesses.

Most importantly, today there are very effective treatments that control HIV. These treatments are referred to as antiretroviral medication. These medicines are so effective that today, people living with HIV who adhere to their medication can live long and healthy lives and maintain strong immune systems.
HIV is the virus that infects your immune system (Human Immunodeficiency Virus). When left untreated, the late-stage of HIV infection is referred to as AIDS, which stands for “Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome”. AIDS is a condition, it is a clinical diagnosis based on the state of your overall health and how strong one’s immune system is. Today, when someone receives a AIDS clinical diagnosis, it means that their CD4 T cell count dropped below 200 cells per cubic milliliter of blood (typical CD4 T cell healthy range is between 500-1600 cells per cubic milliliter of blood) or that the individual has acquired an opportunistic infection regardless of CD4 count.

Before effective antiretroviral treatment became available, people living with HIV often progressed to the late stage AIDS diagnosis. This is what happened so much in the 1980s and early 1990s that we still often think of HIV and AIDS being the same thing. Today, because we have such effective treatment, the vast majority of people living with HIV who take their medication every day do not progress to a late-stage AIDS diagnosis. There is a significant and important distinction between living with HIV, where you can live a long and healthy life with effective treatment, and the late-stage disease state of AIDS. It is also important to remember that because we have such effective treatments today, even if someone living with HIV who had not been on medication progresses to AIDS, that person can be linked back to care and in many cases, can improve their overall health and no longer meet the criteria of a AIDS diagnosis.
HIV is only transmitted through certain bodily fluids. This includes blood, semen (also known as cum), pre-seminal fluid (also known as pre-cum), rectal fluids, vaginal fluids, and breast milk. Because HIV is transmitted through only these bodily fluids, HIV is most often transmitted by unprotected sex (anal and vaginal) or through sharing needles or syringes. In rare cases where the mother is not linked to care during their pregnancy, HIV can be transmitted from mother-to-child during pregnancy, birth, or breastfeeding. Today, there are many effective prevention methods that prevent HIV transmission. This includes PrEP, PEP, and the U=U movement.

HIV is NOT transmitted through kissing, saliva, sweat, or tears. HIV is NOT transmitted through shaking hands or giving hugs. HIV is NOT transmitted through sharing toilets, food, or drinks. HIV is NOT transmitted through air or water. HIV is NOT transmitted through insects or pets.
The only way to know if you have HIV is to get a HIV test. Knowing your HIV status allows you to be empowered in making decisions around your sexual health. There are several different types of HIV tests available. Most commonly available tests at clinics and community-based organizations are antigen/antibody tests. These tests measure your blood for both HIV antigens (part of the HIV virus that is produced during infection) and HIV antibodies (immune response your body makes in response to HIV infection).

When you go in for a HIV test, you will meet with a test counselor who will go over all the testing procedures with you. These sessions are highly valuable and allow you to ask any and all questions you may have about HIV. There is no such thing as a stupid or wrong question. You have a right to have all of your questions and concerns addressed. After the introductory conversation with your testing counselor, the testing counselor will take a sample of your blood. Depending on the test used, this may be a finger prick or a blood draw. The testing counselor will then test your blood for HIV. If the testing center is using a rapid test (and most of them are), you will receive the results of your HIV test during the session. If the test is negative, it is great to continue conversations with your testing counselor to learn more how to stay empowered and in control of your sexual health. This may include conversations around condoms, PrEP, or anything helpful to you for your sex life. If the test is positive, your testing counselor will help you navigate the next steps. This includes scheduling a confirmatory test and potentially linking you to medical care so you can be quickly linked with antiretroviral treatment that can enable you to live a long and healthy life.
There is no cure for HIV but there are now highly effective treatments that control the virus in the blood and allow people living with HIV to live long and healthy lives. These treatments are referred to as antiretroviral treatment, antiretroviral therapy, or antiretroviral medication—they all mean the same thing. Antiretroviral treatment works to stop HIV replication in your blood, which then reduces the amount of virus in your blood to undetectable levels. Undetectable levels mean that with our current technology, we cannot detect the level of virus (or viral load) in the blood. Most HIV viral load tests today can measure as low as 20 copies/ml of HIV in the blood. When those types of tests comes back as undetectable, it means there is less than 20 copies/ml of HIV in the blood. To put that into context, in the absence of treatment, HIV typically is present at 1000-100,000 copies/ml in the blood. That is how effective our treatments are today!

Antiretroviral treatment is usually taken as a combination of two or more drugs. There are treatment options today that combine two and three drugs into one pill that is taken daily. When effective antiretroviral treatment first came out in 1996, people living with HIV used to have multiple pills multiple times a day, making it hard to adhere to the complicated drug regimens. But with scientific advancements in treatment, many people living with HIV can take one pill once a day to keep their viral loads suppressed and undetectable. Once linked to care and starting antiretroviral treatment, it could take up to 6 months for the virus to become suppressed and undetectable. Your provider will be monitoring your viral load closely to see how well the treatment is working and if any changes to your medication are needed.

Adhering to antiretroviral treatment and having a undetectable viral load is so important. Antiretroviral treatment keeps the immune system strong and healthy, allowing people living with HIV to live long and healthy lives. Most importantly, when viral loads are suppressed to undetectable levels, there is NO RISK of sexually transmitting the virus to others, even during unprotected sex (for more information, visit U=U). Because of these benefits, antiretroviral treatment is recommended to all people living with HIV, no matter how long they have had HIV, what their CD4 T cell count is, or how healthy they feel. Linkage to care and adhering the antiretroviral treatment is the key to both maintaining a healthy life and preventing any chance of sexually transmitted the virus.

Your provider can work with you to find the right antiretroviral treatment regimen that works best for you. If you are in Colorado and want to speak to a healthcare provider about different HIV treatment options, call Colorado Health Network at 303-962-5317 or visit https://coloradohealthnetwork.org/health-care-services/

U=U refers to “Undetectable=Untransmittable” and is a movement to educate about the clear scientific fact that if a person living with HIV is on effective antiretroviral medication and has a undetectable viral load, there is ZERO risk they can sexually transmit HIV to their sexual partners. Yup, zero risk. No risk. Just not possible.

We’ll say it again in another way: people living with HIV on effective treatment DO NOT sexually transmit HIV

Let’s try it this way: people living with HIV, who are taking effective treatment, cannot pass on HIV through sex

And we’ll say it how Centers for Disease Control (CDC) say it “people who take ART [antiretroviral treatment] daily as prescribed and achieve and maintain an undetectable viral load have effectively no risk of sexually transmitting the virus to a HIV-negative partner”

No matter how you say it, the facts remain the same. Undetectable=Untransmittable.
Undetectable means that there is no detectable or measurable HIV in the blood as measured by a HIV viral load test. Viral load tests measures the amount of virus that exists in the body. Without any antiretroviral treatment, HIV typically grows to about 1000-10000 copies per ml in the blood. Effective antiretroviral treatment stops HIV from growing and making more copies of itself. As such, effective antiretroviral therapy suppressing the amount of virus in the blood. Antiretroviral treatments are so effective that they suppress the virus to such low levels, we are no longer able to detect HIV in in viral load tests. When the HIV viral load gets that low, we call this “undetectable” as we literally cannot detect the virus in the blood.

The key to becoming undetectable is that the person living with HIV has to be on effective antiretroviral medication, they have to adhere to their medication, and they have to be linked to care to monitor viral loads on a regular basis and make sure the medications are working and suppressing the virus to undetectable levels. When someone first acquires HIV, it can take up to 6 months for the medication to be working and the virus to be suppressed to undetectable levels. The current guidelines is that once a person living with HIV achieves viral suppression, their doctor and care team monitor the level of viral suppression for 6 additional months. If viral suppression is consistently maintained during this time, we can safely say that with continued viral suppression, there is ZERO risk they can sexually transmit HIV.

If you are interested in learning more about your treatment options and want support get to undetectable, Colorado Health Network at 303-962-5317 or visit https://coloradohealthnetwork.org/health-care-services/
There is no cure for HIV but there are now highly effective treatments that control the virus in the blood and allow people living with HIV to live long and healthy lives. These treatments are referred to as antiretroviral treatment, antiretroviral therapy, or antiretroviral medication—they all mean the same thing. Antiretroviral treatment works to stop HIV replication in your blood, which then reduces the amount of virus in your blood to undetectable levels. Undetectable levels mean that with our current technology, we cannot detect the level of virus (or viral load) in the blood. Most HIV viral load tests today can measure as low as 20 copies/ml of HIV in the blood. When those types of tests comes back as undetectable, it means there is less than 20 copies/ml of HIV in the blood. To put that into context, in the absence of treatment, HIV typically is present at 1000-100,000 copies/ml in the blood. That is how effective our treatments are today!

Antiretroviral treatment is usually taken as a combination of two or more drugs. There are treatment options today that combine two and three drugs into one pill that is taken daily. When effective antiretroviral treatment first came out in 1996, people living with HIV used to have multiple pills multiple times a day, making it hard to adhere to the complicated drug regimens. But with scientific advancements in treatment, many people living with HIV can take one pill once a day to keep their viral loads suppressed and undetectable. Once linked to care and starting antiretroviral treatment, it could take up to 6 months for the virus to become suppressed and undetectable. Your provider will be monitoring your viral load closely to see how well the treatment is working and if any changes to your medication are needed.

Adhering to antiretroviral treatment and having a undetectable viral load is so important. Antiretroviral treatment keeps the immune system strong and healthy, allowing people living with HIV to live long and healthy lives. Most importantly, when viral loads are suppressed to undetectable levels, there is NO RISK of sexually transmitting the virus to others, even during unprotected sex (for more information, visit U=U). Because of these benefits, antiretroviral treatment is recommended to all people living with HIV, no matter how long they have had HIV, what their CD4 T cell count is, or how healthy they feel. Linkage to care and adhering the antiretroviral treatment is the key to both maintaining a healthy life and preventing any chance of sexually transmitted the virus.

Your provider can work with you to find the right antiretroviral treatment regimen that works best for you. If you are in Colorado and want to speak to a healthcare provider about different HIV treatment options, call Colorado Health Network at 303-962-5317 or visit https://coloradohealthnetwork.org/health-care-services/
Hepatitis means inflammation of the liver. When the liver is inflamed or damaged, its function can be affected. Heavy alcohol use, toxins, some medications, and certain medical conditions can all cause hepatitis. However, hepatitis is often caused by a virus. In the United States, the most common hepatitis viruses are hepatitis A virus, hepatitis B virus, and hepatitis C virus.

What is the difference between hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C?

Hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C are liver infections caused by three different viruses. Although each can cause similar symptoms, they are spread in different ways and can affect the liver differently. Hepatitis A is usually a short-term infection. Hepatitis B and hepatitis C can also begin as short-term infections but in some people, the virus remains in the body, and causes chronic (lifelong) infection. There are vaccines to prevent hepatitis A and hepatitis B; however, there is no vaccine for hepatitis C.