The session has started. Please submit your questions. We apologize beforehand for not being able to answer all your questions due to time limitations.
Name
Sandra
- Australia
Profession
Question
What's the last word on whether or not public toilets transmit HIV?
Answer
No they don't transmit HIV. The methods of transmission of HIV are only sexual transmission, blood transfusion, using infected skin-piercing instruments including needles and syringes and from the infected mother to her child whether during pregnancy, labor or after birth through breast feeding.
Day to day life activities do not transmit HIV infection.
Name
Mowzah
- Saudi Arabia
Profession
Question
Is AIDS treatable, and can we find AIDS treatment in the Arab world?
Answer
Yes. AIDS is treatable but not curable.
Anti-retroviral drugs are now available and improve the quality of life of HIV-infected individuals and prevent the deterioration of their health. The treatment should be continued life-long and therefore HIV could be considered as a chronic disease like diabetes for example.
The treatment is available in the Arab countries, however in some countries it is provided by the ministry of health free of charge for patients, and in other countries it is available on the market and not available free of charge.
Countries that provide free AIDS drugs include the Gulf countries, Morocco, Tunisia, Syria, and Lebanon.
However, efforts are being done between the World Health Organization and the ministries of health in the remaining Arab countries to reduce the prices of the drugs in order to be able to provide them to their patients.
Name
Nelly
- United Arab Emirates
Profession
Teacher
Question
How does Aids Spread?
Answer
Kindly refer to the first answer for a detailed response.
Name
Denis
- United Kingdom
Profession
Question
Would you say that the developing world is well informed when it comes to Aids?
Answer
It depends on the sector that we are talking about. For example, university students, high school pupils and other educated sectors are aware of AIDS and its modes of transmission, prevention, etc.
Their sources of information are formal education in schools and universities, mass media including the Internet, in addition to some health education activities especially around World AIDS Day.
However, some sectors, especially those in rural areas or of lower socio-economic status, may lack basic information about AIDS.
Name
Rama
- Syria
Profession
House wife
Question
Can you get Aids from daily activities, like public bathrooms, touching, water fountains?
Answer
No. Kindly refer to the first question I answered for details on why.
Name
Aliaa
- Iraq
Profession
nurse
Question
Does dealing with patients with the disease put you at risk of catching it? how about surgical equiptments transfer the disease?
Answer
When dealing with patients with AIDS, you must keep in mind the methods of transmission. The body secretions/fluids that can transmit the infection are blood and its products, genital secretions whether male or female and breast milk.
If any of these secretions/fluids get in contact with any break in the skin or mucus membranes, there is the risk of catching the infection where the virus reaches the bloodstream of the individual.
Therefore, on dealing with an AIDS patient you must take all possible precautions to prevent transmission of the infection. These precautions include making sure that you wear surgical gloves when dealing potentially infected secretions.
Regarding surgical equipment, they must be sterilized by autoclave between use. This will guarantee that there is no possibility for transmission of infection.
It is to be noted that the HIV virus is a relatively weak virus that loses its virulence once it is present outside the body for a few minutes.
Name
Suhaib
- United Kingdom
Profession
Question
What truth, if any, is there in the belief that AIDS has been caused by perverse acts, especially homosexual ones?
Answer
This is controversial. There are several theories about the origin of the disease. The disease first appeared among homosexuals and that's why it was to some extent linked to homosexuality. However, later it appeared among other groups where infection has been transmitted to them through heterosexual relations, blood transfusion, etc.
There is no evidence till now that homosexuality in and of itself is responsible for the original spread of the disease.
Name
Moneer
- United Arab Emirates
Profession
pharmacist
Question
dear doctor:
As Salam Alikom,
Thankyou for providing such an opertunity for disscusing such a subject which is rarely disscused in our Arab world.
My Question is, media keeps telling us that insects cannot spread the AIDS virus, which i find difficult to believe, insects like mosquitos and flees are blood sucking insects that transfer -in a way- blood from one person to another. logically if that blood is infected, that would be a way of spreading the disease, would'nt it.
i really would like you to clerify that point as it worries me so much.
thankyou again and may allah accept your good deeds.
Answer
There is no scientific evidence that blood sucking insects transmit HIV virus infection. This could be because that the virus does not survive inside the environment of the mosquito. Therefore, when it resucks another individual, the infection is not transmitted. Whatever the scientific explanation for this, we ensure that infection is not transmitted through blood-sucking insects.
Name
Jim
- United States
Profession
Question
Why are Arab countries so reluctant to admit to the real number of AIDS patients they currently have? Is the World Health Organization having an easy job at getting the information they need to document cases in the region?
Answer
Currently, Arab countries report to the World Health Organization regularly the real number of AIDS cases that are discovered and reported to the ministries of health in these countries. These numbers are less than the actual numbers that are present in the community but are not known to the health authorities and consequently not reported to the ministries of health.
We are now developing estimates for the numbers of HIV cases in the different countries, which as mentioned before will be larger than the currently reported numbers.
Name
Hanan
- Morocco
Profession
Question
Is it true that the number of AIDS patients that liv in Islamic cuntries are less than AIDS patients in West cuntries?
Answer
Generally speaking, Islamic countries have less AIDS patients than other countries. However, there are risk factors that may facilitate the spread of HIV in these countries if they do not act strongly to prevent them.
For example, extra-marital sexual relations, injecting drug use and homosexuality do exist with different rates in these countries.
All these factors may flare up the transmission of HIV among the population if preventive measures are not applied seriously. If precautions are not taken, the case may be similar to what happened in Eastern Europe where injecting drug use caused exploding rates of HIV during the last few years.
The relatively slow spread of the epidemic in the Islamic countries is related to the conservative cultural and religious norms that limit the risks for transmission.
Name
muslim*
- Ethiopia
Profession
student+merchant
Question
Assalamu alaikum....
it is true that the prophet forebed mut`e , kind of marriage. Don't you see any possibility for its legality as a means of pevention of Aids.
Answer
No studies have been carried out to prove that mut'a marriage prevents the transmission of AIDS.
Name
Mohmad
- France
Profession
Question
Aslam Alikom,
Dear Doctor,
First of all, i would like to state that we need to open such disscusions more often. subjects such as AIDS are dealt with in a way that lacks profisionality and honesty and there is alwayssome piece of information missing.
We've been told that AIDS is an STD with out explaining why!
What transfers the viruse, is it semen or the vaginal fluid or the possibilty of minute scratches that allow blood exchange. Does the viruse penetrate penis skin? if so, then that means that only women infect men not the other way around.
And it would would mean that the AIDS viruse is present in all body fluids like salaiva and tears for instance.ie. acouch in the face from an infected person will be more than enough to infect you.
Is that true,please explain.
Answer
Both semen and vaginal fluids transfer the virus. The virus itself does not penetrate the skin, it only enters through scratches in the skin or the mucus membranes. Such minute scratches on the mucus membranes or skin may occur during sexual intercourse. However, due to some physiological reasons, women are more easily infected. The area of exposed mucus membrane during sexual intercourse in women is larger and more easily traumatized than the skin in the male. Thus women are more easily infected than men.
An infected man can transmit the infection to an uninfected woman more easily than transmission from an infected woman to an uninfected man.
Name
Ahmed
- United States
Profession
Question
Greetings of Peace Doctor,
I'd like to know your opinion or understanding with reference to the AIDs desease being more prevalent amongst Blacks and African people. I am a former Government employee and I have had few contacts with former U.S Government doctors and scientists who say that the AIDS virus is purposely being injected into Africans as a form of genocide on the Black people. They have told me they have evidence to support this, and that this has been going on for years by various Doctors of the Zionist countries.
Your repsonse Please, Thank you..
Answer
Scientifically there is no evidence there is a preference of the HIV virus to certain races.
However, the most affected countries with the HIV epidemic are the sub-Saharan African countries. This could be partly due to the weak health systems and the very low awareness of the populations and the limited resources that hinder applying the interventions that have proven to be effective in Western countries to stop the spread of the disease.
Also some cultural beliefs and practices related to sexual relations amongst primitive African tribes and populations increase the risk of HIV spread. For example, some cultures in sub-Saharan Africa permit sexual intercourse between any male relatives of the husband with his wife.
Other beliefs include that having sexual intercourse with a virgin will cure the HIV infection, and this resulted in many rape assaults in some communities.
Name
Momina
- Norway
Profession
wife
Question
Al salamu aleikum rahmatullah.
Bless you for your work for islam.
Allah subhana taala is still creating, look at the universe, new planets aso.
The bacteria of aids and now SARS, and other bacteria is just new things showing up for us to wake up.
I heard that these bacteria is a punishment from Allah to the non-belivers, is that so? and my husbands friend got aids from the hospital (hokna), he died 4 years ago, he was a "muslim", I dont know if he practised islam.
Is that a punishment or a test?
Allah ya berik fikom.
Answer
From a certain perspective, some people may consider it punishment. However, you find that many innocent children, women or men catch the infection whether through mother-to-child transmission, husband-to-wife transmission or through infected blood transfusion. All these examples do not include any sinful acts and their victims are innocent. So I think this view could not be generalized.
Name
Ahmed
- Tanzania
Profession
Question
My sister and her husband died last year with aids. They left their new born baby in my care. I am worried that he may develop the disease later having received it from his mother during child birth. What are the chances of that happening?
Answer
The most reliable method to detect the presence of the infection is the HIV blood test. So it is suggested if you doubt that your nephew has the infection, that you can perform a blood test for him to know his HIV status. You can inquire about the availability of this service from your nearest health center.
Name
Susan
- Indonesia
Profession
Question
I need information about Aids in Indonesia. I don't know where to go for accurate data about the subject. Can you suggest some sourses for me?
Answer
You may consult the World Health Organization Regional Office for the Western Pacific in Manila. It's website is: http://www.wpro.who.int..
Name
Vidina
-
Profession
Question
Assalamualaiku ..Do think AIDS is a punishment from Allah?.
Answer
Refer to a previous answer on this subject.
Name
Mariam
- Kuwait
Profession
Question
can delivering a child through ceserian operation save the baby from catching aids from his infected mother?
Answer
Cesarean section diminishes the risk of HIV transmission. However, it is one element for this purpose, and this should be coupled with an anti-retroviral drug given during pregnancy to the mother, and counseling regarding breast feeding.
Elective cesarian section prevents the risks involved normal vaginal delivery concerning getting in touch with the maternal blood and vaginal secretions. This is believed to be one factor to diminish the opportunities for the transmission of the virus to the child.
Name
Ali
- Egypt
Profession
Question
I discovered three years ago that I have AIDS. I live in Egypt and i feel really isolated becuz of the way people treat me when they know. What can I do to get them to treat me in a better way?
Answer
HIV infection is usually accompanied by stigma and discrimination. The reasons behind this are:
1. its link to unacceptable behaviors such as extra-marital, homosexual relations, and drug-abuse. This is especially because the beginning of the appearance of AIDS disease was among homosexual groups
2. misconceptions regarding the modes of transmission of the infection where people are afraid to deal with the infected individual in order not to catch the infection
3. the belief that AIDS is a fatal disease with no treatment or cure.
Stigma and discrimination related to HIV/AIDS are considered by specialists a main barrier against proper preventive and care measures towards infected people or those at risk of infection, because those people are afraid to seek medical advice in order not to be stigmatized.
Realizing these drawbacks of stigma and discrimination, UNAIDS and the World Health Organization chose the theme of stigma and discrimination for the world AIDS campaigns for 2002 and 2003.
We believe that proper information about the mode of transmission of the disease and that it does not spread through day-to-day contact will diminish part of the stigma.
Also the availability of anti-retroviral drugs and their high effectiveness in prolonging the life of patients, with Allah's will, will also decrease part of the stigma.
If we refer to the Islamic religious opinion in this case, we find that Islam is against stigma and discrimination, whatever its cause or its purpose. A verse in the Noble Quran translates: "Woe to every (kind of) scandal-monger and-backbiter" (104:1).
Another verse translates:
"O ye who believe! Let not some men among you laugh at others: It may be that the (latter) are better than the (former): Nor let some women laugh at others: It may be that the (latter are better than the (former): Nor defame nor be sarcastic to each other, nor call each other by (offensive) nicknames: Ill-seeming is a name connoting wickedness, (to be used of one) after he has believed: And those who do not desist are (indeed) doing wrong." (49:11)
Also, Islam stresses on the right of the patient to receive maximum care and sympathy whatever disease he has, without exploring the reason behind the disease.
So what we advise you to do is to be patient and all our efforts as the World Health Organization and the ministries of health are working towards decreasing stigma and discrimination related to HIV/AIDS based on spreading of proper information about the disease and provision of anti-retroviral drugs (still in process) which will surely have a big impact on decreasing the suffering of HIV patients concerning stigma and discrimination.
