HIV/AIDS SCREENING:
*HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus:
When a person is infected, HIV gradually attacks certain cells that coordinate immunity (i.e., the body's defenses against microbes).
*AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome:
Without effective treatment, the cells that coordinate immunity may become fewer and fewer, and immunity may become less effective. This may lead to increasingly serious diseases developing. Some diseases are called "opportunistic diseases" because they take advantage of diminished immunity to develop. When a person has one or more of these diseases, they are said to have AIDS.
There are different types of tests to find out if you have HIV/AIDS:
- Classic test ( ELISA ): the blood screening test looks for the presence of antibodies in the blood, proof of infection. It is reliable if carried out six weeks after taking a risk: a period of 1.5 month must have elapsed after the last risk.
- Rapid test: The TROD (Rapid Diagnostic Orientation Test) provides results in 30 minutes maximum. It works using a few drops of blood taken from a fingertip. A period of 3 months (12 weeks) must have elapsed since the last risk-taking. If the rapid test is positive, it must be confirmed by a conventional screening test (ELISA), carried out in a laboratory or a CeGIDD (Free Information, Screening and Diagnostic Center).
- Self-test: The HIV self-test allows screening for HIV, the AIDS virus. It is performed using a drop of blood and a lancing device, in the conditions that suit you best: alone, with a friend, with your doctor, in a pharmacy, etc. The HIV self-test is reliable for a risk taken more than three months (12 weeks) ago. The result is obtained after 15 minutes.
HEPATITIS SCREENING:
Hepatitis A is caused by the HAV virus, which is usually transmitted through the ingestion of contaminated food (shellfish, polluted water). However, it can also be transmitted sexually during oral-anal sex (rimming).
Hepatitis B is an easily transmitted HBV infection. In France, many infections occur sexually. Only hepatitis B is a fully sexually transmitted infection, but other hepatitis types can, under certain conditions, be contracted during sexual activity.
Hepatitis C is not considered an STI since it is mainly transmitted through blood exchange. Transmission through sexual intercourse can occur in cases of:
- of periods
- unprotected anal intercourse
- traumatic (damaging the mucous membranes) or "hard" (fist, etc.) intercourse.
Hepatitis B and hepatitis C:
When to get tested? A hepatitis B and C screening test may be considered if you answer positively at least once to one of the following statements:
- I was transfused before 1992
- I have tried drugs (even a long time ago) either by snorting or by injection, or I have shared small injection equipment
- I had major surgery
- I was hospitalized for heavy treatment
- My mother is a carrier of the hepatitis B or C virus
- My partner is a carrier of the hepatitis B or C virus
- One of my close family members is a carrier of the hepatitis B or C virus
- I have had transcutaneous medical examinations or acupuncture
- I got a piercing or a tattoo
- I was incarcerated at one point in my life
- I have liver disease or jaundice.