![]() ![]() Hospitals and blood banks screen the blood supply for HIV, so this risk is very small in the U.S. In some cases, the virus may be transmitted through blood transfusions. Sharing contaminated injection drug paraphernalia (needles and syringes) puts you at high risk of HIV and other infectious diseases, such as hepatitis. The virus can enter your body through mouth sores or small tears that sometimes develop in the rectum or vagina during sexual activity. You may become infected if you have vaginal, anal or oral sex with an infected partner whose blood, semen or vaginal secretions enter your body. To become infected with HIV, infected blood, semen or vaginal secretions must enter your body. AIDS is diagnosed when the CD4 T cell count falls below 200 or you have an AIDS-defining complication, such as a serious infection or cancer. You can have an HIV infection, with few or no symptoms, for years before it turns into AIDS. The fewer CD4 T cells you have, the weaker your immune system becomes. HIV destroys CD4 T cells - white blood cells that play a large role in helping your body fight disease. It can spread through sexual contact, illicit injection drug use or sharing needles, contact with infected blood, or from mother to child during pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding. If you think you may have been infected with HIV or are at risk of contracting the virus, see a health care provider as soon as possible.
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