Human Reproductive System
Primary 6 · Science and Elementary Technology
Human Reproductive System
Lesson 6 of 6
15 min
Let's begin
In Byiringiro's village, some children stopped playing with a boy whose mother lives with HIV. "We might catch it," they said.
Their teacher shook her head. "You cannot get HIV by playing, hugging or sharing a meal." Who is right? Today you will learn the facts, so that you can protect yourself and treat everyone with respect.
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are infections that pass from one person to another mainly through sexual contact. Examples are HIV, syphilis, gonorrhoea, herpes and chancroid. Some people with an STI have sores, itching or pain when passing urine, but many people have no signs at all, so testing at a health centre is important. Most STIs can be treated if they are found early. HIV cannot yet be cured, but it can be controlled.
HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus. It attacks the immune system, the body's defence against germs. Without treatment, after some years the immune system becomes very weak and the person falls sick with many serious diseases. This late stage is called AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome).
HIV lives in only four body fluids of an infected person: blood, semen, vaginal fluid and breast milk. It can spread through:
You cannot get HIV from hugging, shaking hands, playing together, sharing food, cups or plates, using the same toilet, sitting in the same class, swimming together, coughing, sneezing, or mosquito bites.
There is no cure for HIV yet, but medicines called ARVs (antiretroviral drugs), taken every day, keep the virus under control. People living with HIV who take their ARVs can live long, healthy lives, go to school, work and raise families. In Rwanda, HIV testing and ARVs are free at health centres.
Living positively with HIV means taking ARVs every day, eating a balanced diet, resting, exercising, avoiding alcohol and smoking, getting other illnesses treated early, and staying hopeful and active.
Treating someone badly because they have HIV is called stigma, and it hurts people. Instead: play with them and include them, keep their health private, help with chores if they are ill, remind them kindly about their medicine, and stand up for them if others are unkind.
Tip
Four fluids only
HIV travels in blood, semen, vaginal fluid and breast milk, not in hugs, food, sweat, tears or mosquitoes. So protect yourself, and never push anyone away.
Try each one on your own first, then tap Show answer to check.
Which system of the body does HIV attack?
Answer: The immune system, the body's defence against disease.
Give two ways HIV can spread and two ways it cannot.
Answer: Can: unprotected sex, sharing needles or razor blades, mother to baby. Cannot: hugging, sharing food, mosquito bites, playing together.
Why should you not share razor blades?
Answer: A blade may carry tiny amounts of infected blood, which can pass HIV and other infections.
What are ARVs?
Answer: Antiretroviral drugs: medicines taken every day that keep HIV under control.
How can you support a classmate whose mother lives with HIV?
Answer: Keep playing with them, keep their family's health private, and stand up for them if others are unkind.
What you learned today
Sources and credits
Written by Ganzaa.
Quick check
You can get HIV by hugging, playing together or sharing a meal.
