HIV Basics

The CDC Website is a great resource to learn the basics about HIV. As they state, HIV is a virus that “weakens a person’s immune system by destroying important cells that fight disease and infection.” Anyone, regardless of gender or sexual orientation, can contract HIV. It is transmitted through sexual fluids, blood, and perinatal-transmission (from mother to child).  Although there is no cure, HIV when caught early and treated consistently with proper medical care is no longer life-threatening. The CDC website provides vital information on:

• Transmission
• HIV’s effect on the body
• Living with HIV
• Stigma
• Prevention
• Testing
• Statistics and resources that are population specific, For example, as of 2019:
  • Male-to-male sexual contact makes up 65% of new HIV cases
  • Heterosexual sexual contact makes up 23% of new HIV cases
  • Injection drug use makes up 7% of new HIV cases
  • Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino people are disproportionately affected by HIV, accounting for 42% and 29% of new cases, respectively.

There are informational and advocacy campaigns to spread awareness on the impact of HIV on various populations:

• African Americans/Black Americans– February 7th is National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
  • HIV and Black Gay and Bisexual Men
• Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders  – May 19 is National Asian and Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
• Gay and Bisexual Men – September 27 is National Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
• Latinx Americans – October 15th is National Latino AIDS Awareness Day (NLAAD)
• Women and Girls– March 10 is National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

HIV Prevention

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases provides a wealth of information on HIV Prevention:

• Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) – a medication plan available for those at high risk of contracting HIV that prevents getting the virus in case one does get exposed.
• Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) – a medication plan available to those who have been exposed to HIV that may prevent contracting the virus. PEP only works within 72 hours of exposure.
• Treatment as Prevention (Undetectable = Untransmittable) – Clinical evidence has found “that people with HIV who achieve and maintain an undetectable viral load—the amount of HIV in the blood—by taking antiretroviral therapy (ART) daily as prescribed cannot sexually transmit the virus to others.” This also applies to transmission through birth and breast-feeding. The implications of this mean that effectively treating those living with HIV is a key way to End the HIV Epidemic.
• Condom Use – Consistent and correct condom use has been a key way to prevent the spread of HIV since the start of the epidemic in the 1980s. Latex condoms are also vital in preventing the spread of other sexually transmitted infections.
  • Condoms can be found for free in the Women’s and LGBTQ+ Center and through Health Services.

Use the CDC’s HIV Risk Reduction Tool to measure your own risk of HIV, learn more about risk broadly, and find answers to your questions.

HIV Timelines

The following two websites provide information on the timelines of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic from the first confirmed case in 1981 to the Present:

• The US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief provides a timeline of domestic and global responses to the AIDS epidemic through political action, scientific discovery, and community activism
• HIV.gov provides a detailed timeline of the domestic HIV epidemic, highlighting the advancement in HIV prevention, care, and treatment as well as the slow response by the US government in the early years of the epidemic

An often untold story in the timeline of the HIV epidemic includes the story of Robert Rayford, a 16-year old Black boy who died mysteriously in May 1969. Although some scientists say it cannot be 100% confirmed that it was HIV, Rayford died from pneumonia, was found to have Kaposi’s sarcoma, and was incredibly under weight. These case identifiers also aligned with early cases of AIDS, before AIDS had a name, in gay men. Additionally, Rayford’s tissues were tested years later and were found to contain the 9 proteins associated with HIV. It is not unlikely that the first case of HIV in the US occurred years before the epidemic actually began, and was potentially a different strain of the virus.
In February 2019, Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. (EHE) was launched as a key federal policy. The aim is to end the epidemic by 2030 through funding to improve prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and outbreak response. Click here to see a timeline of activities for EHE since 2019.

• Let’s Stop HIV Together – a resource library in English and Spanish

HIV/AIDS Activism

There was medical and political negligence in addressing the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, primarily due to homophobia and the disproportionate impact on gay men. As the timelines above note, HIV/AIDS was considered a “gay man’s” disease, despite the reality than anyone can get HIV. The lack of response led to HIV Activist groups forming to demand humanity, medical care, and attention:

• The AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) was formed due to this negligence, and still today participates in direct actions like protests, marches, and meetings with politicians to ensure proper response and equity in treatment for HIV/AIDS. Their slogan is Silence = Death, and a key action volunteers participated in were “die-ins,” where death was feigned by participants to illustrate what happens from the lack of response.
  • There is an NPR episode of It’s Been a Minute with Sam Sanders that chronicles the history of ACT UP activism through interviewing Sarah Schulman, the codirector of the ACT UP Oral History Project.
• GMHC (Gay Men’s Health Crisis) was started in 1981 as a group of gay men in New York City began raising money for research. By 1982, they were a prime informational source by hosting the first AIDS hotline and who’s newsletters were sent to individuals, doctors, hospitals, clinics, and the Library of Congress. Today, their work is still oriented around ending the epidemic by providing HIV and STI testing, food and nutrition programs, housing support, workforce development, legal assistance, advocacy for benefits and health insurance, mental health and emotional support, substance use counseling, and more.
  • GMHC mails out free HIV self-tests to individuals residing in NY, NJ, PA, or CT.

Ramapo College Health Services does not currently test for HIV or provide treatment. The only prevention methods available are condoms. Bergen County Department of Health provides free testing, counseling, and referrals. Community health organizations, sexual health clinics, and private practices can provide access to PrEP and HIV treatment. If you believe you have been exposed to HIV, PEP is available in most emergency departments of public hospitals. You can use the HIV.gov locator to find HIV services near you.