Behaviors to reduce the risk of HIV infectionThe human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is the pathogen that destroys the body's immune system allowing the development of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a disorder of the human immune system in an HIV-infected person, characterized by severe deterioration of the immune system that leaves a person highly susceptible to opportunistic infections. An opportunistic infection is an infection that would probably not have a chance to invade the body if a person's immune system were healthy.HIV InfectionØ A virus is one of the smallest pathogens that can cause disease. Like other viruses, HIV cannot replicate on its own. However, when HIV enters a person's body, it attaches to a part of the helper T cell, takes control of the helper T cell, and reproduces its genetic material in the helper T cell. The virus multiplies inside helper T cells, causing the disruption of help signals in the form of antibodies. The result is uncontrolled spread of HIV and erosion of the immune system's ability to defend itself from other pathogens .Ø Most people have no symptoms when they first become infected. You need to get tested to make sure you have HIV. Ø It may take a few weeks to many years for symptoms to appear. Ø Symptoms include fever, diarrhea, weight loss, tiredness, and swollen lymph nodes. Transmission of HIVThere are five ways of transmission of HIV. Ø Sexual transmission: People who have open lesions and engage in sexual behavior are particularly vulnerable to HIV infection. The more sexual partners you have, the higher the risk. It can travel through a person's blood, semen, vaginal secretions. HIV can enter through cuts, skin sores, moist lining of the vagina, moist lining of the penis. The only way to completely avoid sexual transmission means abstaining from sexual intercourse or having sexual intercourse only with an uninfected partner in a monogamous relationship . Latex condoms have been shown to help reduce the risk of transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. Ø Needle sharing: Sharing needles to inject drugs intravenously is the most dangerous form of needle sharing. Even the needles used for tattooing and piercing ears. Ø Mother-to-child transmission: If a woman is infected before or during pregnancy, her baby has about a one in three chance of being born with HIV infection..