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American Morning

Ask CNN: How Is AIDS Transmitted, and How Did It Get to the United States?

Aired June 04, 2001 - 10:38   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A CNN viewer wants to know "How is AIDS transmitted, and how did it get to the United States?"

CHRISTY FEIG, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL PRODUCER: HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, is transmitted through bodily fluids, like semen or blood. It's activities like having unprotected sex with somebody who is HIV positive or sharing needles that will increase your risk of getting the virus. Pregnant women who are HIV positive can also pass the virus onto their unborn baby during delivery or during breast feeding, so doctors will take a lot of precautions here; they'll give HIV medicines to those women during the pregnancy, to reduce the amount of virus that's in the blood.

It's important to remember that you can't get HIV through casual contact, like touching or hugging, sitting on toilet seats, or sharing eating utensils.

As for how HIV came to the United States, experts don't really know. Doctors can tell you who died first of AIDS in this country, but they can't tell you where the first infections landed, because those don't show up for a long period of time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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