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Prevention begins with knowledge and understanding.

The most reliable ways to avoid becoming infected with or transmitting HIV are:

• Abstain from sexual intercourse (i.e., oral, vaginal, or anal sex).
• Be in a long-term, mutually monogamous relationship with an uninfected partner.
• Abstain from sharing needles and/or syringes for non-prescription drugs.

HIV and STIs
All partners should get tested for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STIs) before initiating sexual intercourse.

Having another STI increases by two to five times the likelihood a person will become infected with HIV and increases the likelihood an infected person will transmit HIV.

If a person chooses to have sexual intercourse with a partner whose infection status is unknown or who is infected with HIV or another STD, a new condom should be used for each act of intercourse.

HIV and Injection Drug Users
Injection drug users, their partners, and their children account for at least 36% of all AIDS cases reported in the U.S. through 1999 ². For injection drug users who cannot or will not stop injecting drugs, using sterile needles and syringes only once remains the safest, most effective approach for limiting HIV transmission.

HIV and Pregnancy
Pregnant women should be routinely counseled and voluntarily tested for HIV. Early diagnosis allows a woman to receive effective antiretroviral therapies for her own health and preventive drugs (e.g., Zidovudine, also known as ZDV) to improve the chances that her infant will be born free of infection.

EMAIL WESTCAP
Toll-free 1-800-765-8594
Western Colorado AIDS Project
805 Main Street
Grand Junction, CO 81501
970-243-2437
FAX 970-243-5791