Question: My husband recently tested HIV positive. We have been seeing a counsellor but I am still nervous about some of the things I was told. We were told that you can't get infected with HIV by sharing cups and spoons and towels, but I have three children aged 12, 10 and 7 and my nervousness stems from the fact that I worry that we might get it through casual means anyway.

Answer: To be able to prevent HIV infection it is important that one understands the modes of transmission of the virus in order to prevent getting infected.

Your counsellor was quite correct in saying that you cannot contract HIV from casual contact such as hugging, sharing food, sharing eating utensils, shaking hands, using the same toilet as someone with HIV, or by any other contact where blood is not transferred from the open wound of an infected person to the open wound of another person. Insects such as mosquitoes also do not spread HIV from person to person.

There are four ways in which one can become infected with HIV.

1. Unprotected Sexual Intercourse.

Most people become infected through having unprotected sex (not using a condom).

2. Mother to Child Transmission

Women who are infected with HIV can pass the virus to their unborn babies during pregnancy, during labour and delivery, or through breast feeding.

3. Receiving Infected Blood into One's Bloodstream.

One could become infected if HIV infected blood comes into direct contact with that person's blood. This could happen through an open sore, sharing razor blades or needles that were used by someone already infected with HIV, from receiving infected blood during a blood transfusion.

However, in South Africa all donated blood is tested for HIV before it is used in blood transfusions to ensure that the blood supply is as safe as possible.

How can HIV be prevented?

Parents should discuss sexuality with their children from an early age. People, especially young people, should be encouraged not to have sex until they are ready and then they need to agree with their partners to be faithful to each other in a stable relationship.

Condoms should always be used during sexual contact outside of a stable, monogamous relationship.

When using skin piercing instruments such as razor blades, needles or syringes, these should be new or otherwise properly sterilised. These instruments should not be shared with other people casually.

Recreational drug use lowers the immune system and makes the body more susceptible to infections.

All women should seek information about pregnancy before becoming pregnant and if they are HIV positive, they need to register their pregnancy at their nearest Antenatal Clinic so that they may be included in the system in order to ensure that they are able to do all they can to prevent their baby from contracting HIV infection.