Wear a new condom every time you have a sexual encounter. In particular, it is always necessary to use the condom or the femidom (the female condom) for anal and vaginal intercourse, they must be water-based, because oil-based ones can more easily cause the latex to break. In oral intercourse, on the other hand, it is recommended to use an oral dam (a sort of non-lubricated flavored plasticized sheet);
Take antiretroviral drugs that can inhibit the spread of the virus. This applies to those who are HIV-positive and under treatment for the prevention of AIDS and have risky behaviors. In fact, some anti-HIV medicines are also able to reduce the likelihood of transmitting the virus in turn;
Notify your current sexual partner (s) if you are HIV positive, and inform past partners of your condition so that they can get tested;Do not share syringes, which is to say that even if you use injectable drugs, at least that you do it with always new and sterile syringes;
In the case of pregnancy and risk behaviors, it is crucial to undergo the test immediately to discover a possible HIV infection. HIV-positive pregnant women can, as we have seen, transmit the infection to the unborn child, but antiretroviral therapy is able to reduce this risk;Prevent and treat venereal diseases, which are also a risk factor for acquired immunodeficiency infection.
What is AIDS in cats (feline immunodeficiency syndrome)FIV (Feline Immunodeficiency), is a common disease of cats, similar to AIDS and for this reason defined, in fact, cat AIDS. We talk about it here because it often happens to meet people – both cat owners and non-cat owners – who confuse the two syndromes, human and feline, and fear that there is a danger of transmission.
Let’s get rid of this doubt immediately: cat “AIDS” has nothing to do with HIV infection in humans, which is transmitted sexually or through direct contact with infected (human) blood, and which above all has other pathogenic cause.
Image showing an adult cat with feline immunodeficiency FIV is a viral disease caused by a retrovirus that affects only felines (therefore cats, in particular stray but not, for example, dogs) and which is transmitted from infected person to person healthy mostly through scratching and biting, because the pathogen is contained in saliva and blood.
All cats are at risk, but in particular those that can easily be attacked by wild or stray cats (especially if males are not neutered, and therefore aggressive), in urban areas or in rural areas.
Warning: FIV is only transmitted from feline to feline! It cannot be transmitted from the cat to the dog of the house, for example, nor, even less, to the owners. Although of a different nature, feline immunodeficiency syndrome has symptoms similar to those of AIDS, which include:
- Loss of appetite and weight loss;
- Fever;
- Weakness;
- Anemia;
- Ease of contracting infections affecting the oral cavity, intestines, respiratory tract, etc.
Cat AIDS can be kept under control but not treated, because there are no drug therapies capable of eradicating the virus once it has infected the animal. The life expectancy of the feline with full-blown FIV is about five years from diagnosis.