we sort out preconceived ideas

The AIDS virus could be transmitted via a tattoo, a hug, a shared glass of water, or a handshake, while the morning after pill, a personal toiletry product, or even a paracetamol tablet would constitute effective barriers to protect yourself from the virus. So many preconceived ideas — and false ones — that still circulate 40 years after the discovery of the AIDS virus, and that it is necessary to combat to stop the disease and fight against all forms of stigmatization.

The urgency of intensifying prevention and information

According to the survey carried out by Ifop for Sidaction, among young French people aged 15 to 24, nearly eight out of ten young people questioned (79%) say they are well informed about the AIDS virus, whether in terms of prevention, transmission or treatment. A figure that has been constantly increasing since 2021 (67%), although this feeling of information is not reflected in the concrete answers provided by respondents on representations associated with HIV/AIDS.

Among the younger generation, more and more people think that the AIDS virus can be transmitted by getting a tattoo or piercing (61%), by kissing a person HIV positiveHIV positive (30 %), via sweating (25%), sharing a glass of water (25%), via the public toilet seat (25%), eating from the same plate as an HIV-positive person (23%), or shaking their hand (16%).

Nearly four out of ten respondents (38%) believe, for example, that they are less likely to be infected with the AIDS virus than others. More than a third of young respondents (37%) also wrongly believe that there is a vaccine to prevent transmission of the virus, 36% a treatment to cure it, and 21% think, once again wrongly, that the AIDS only affects homosexualshomosexuals and drug addicts.

Nine out of ten young people are aware of the effectiveness of male condommale condom to prevent the transmission of the AIDS virus, just as 77% believe, this time rightly, that the female condom is also effective. On the other hand, more than a quarter of respondents (26%) believe, this time wrongly, that the emergency contraceptive pill can also prevent the transmission of HIV/AIDS. And the observation is the same for the use of an intimate toiletry product (24%), at a contraceptive pillcontraceptive pill classic (23%), and even a paracetamol tablet (19%).

These preconceived ideas are not without consequences on the way in which HIV-positive people are perceived, and therefore stigmatized. Four in ten young people would not feel comfortable if they found out that their child’s nanny was HIV positive. And this discomfort would also be felt towards the person with whom they would go on vacation (31%), their attending physician (31%), a colleague or comrade (29%), their best friend ( e) (28%), or a teacher (25%).

On the occasion of World AIDS Day, here are 5 preconceived ideas to brush aside

FAKE. Less present in the media for several years, AIDS has not (yet) disappeared. Although treatments allow people with HIV to “live better”, they do not cure them. Likewise, scientific advances have also helped reduce the mortality rate, but 630,000 people will die from AIDS-related illnesses worldwide in 2022, according to data published by the World Health Organization. (WHO). The global health authority also reveals that around 39 million people are living with HIV worldwide, and 1.3 million have been newly infected, still in 2022.

• HIV and AIDS are the same

FAKE. There is a difference between HIV infection and AIDS. The virusimmunodeficiencyimmunodeficiency (HIV) can, without treatment, be responsible for acquired immune deficiency syndromeacquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), the most advanced phase of HIV infection. In other words, a person who has AIDS is necessarily infected with HIV even though the opposite is not true. A person infected with HIV has not necessarily developed AIDS; hence the importance of treatments.

• A person with HIV on treatment can transmit the virus

FAKE. If the condom remains essential to prevent any risk of transmission, a person taking “ antiretroviral treatment every day as prescribed and (achieving) and (now) viral loadviral load undetectable has no risk of transmitting the virus to a partner HIV negativeHIV negative for HIV », recalls Sida Info Service. This is the famous “I = I”, namely Undetectable = Untransmittable.

• Taking an oral contraceptive prevents you from contracting HIV

FAKE. If the condom and the pill both prevent a pregnancypregnancy unwanted, they do not have the same power in mattermatter of HIV transmission. Placed correctly and used correctly, the first effectively prevents the transmission of HIV, while the second is absolutely not a means of prevention.

• HIV can be transmitted through kissing

FAKE. Lack of knowledge about the modes of transmission persists despite numerous information campaigns on the subject. HIV is not spread by kissing or mosquito bites, by using public toilets or by drinking from a glass of someone who is HIV-positive.

To put it simply, it is not a contagious disease, therefore no transmission by salivasalivacough, or sweatsweat. “ HIV is most often transmitted during unprotected sexual intercourse if there is vaginal or anal penetration, (…) through significant contact with contaminated blood when sharing injection equipment or in the event ofaccidentaccident exposure (for caregivers) », Recalls Public Health France.