HIV exposure and transmission

HIV exposure occurs when HIV infected body fluids (such as the blood, cum or anal mucus of an HIV positive man) come into contact with another person's blood stream. This could be as a result of unprotected fucking, sharing needles or sex toys or through oral sex.

HIV transmission occurs when an HIV negative man is exposed to HIV and the virus infects the cells in his blood. He then becomes HIV positive. There are HIV tests that can be used to detect HIV infection one month after HIV has been transmitted.

HIV is not as infectious as some other viral diseases. If you have sex with someone with HIV and are exposed to the virus, it does not necessarily mean that you will become HIV positive. Not every incidence of HIV exposure leads to the transmission of HIV. There are no exact figures for how often HIV transmission occurs when a person is exposed to HIV. Some research indicates that the likelihood of HIV transmission when a negative man is exposed to HIV by getting fucked by an HIV positive man without using a condom is around 3% (three times in every 100).1,2 In real terms it can be difficult to know what this means. It’s important to remember that while some people fuck without condoms many times before they get HIV, some people get infected after just one unprotected fuck. The likelihood of exposure from oral sex resulting in HIV transmission is much lower.

You can protect yourself or your partner from HIV by ensuring that exposure to HIV does not occur, or by reducing the likelihood of transmission if HIV exposure happens. Behaviours that prevent exposure to HIV are vastly more reliable at stopping HIV than methods which attempt to reduce the likelihood of transmission. In fact, if you only attempt to prevent transmission of HIV, rather than exposure to HIV, you will probably become infected with HIV (or if you have already have HIV, pass the virus on to someone else).

Methods for preventing HIV exposure include using condoms, only having sex with other men you are certain are HIV negative (sero-sorting) or only having non-penetrative sex, such as wanking.

If you think you have been exposed to HIV taking Post Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) may be able to stop you from becoming infected. , Fucking without cumming (withdrawal) or being the insertive partner if you are HIV negative can reduce the risk of catching HIV if you don’t use condoms, but this is still very risky. Condoms are the most reliable way to protect yourself from HIV.

Further information on preventing exposure to HIV and reducing the likelihood of transmission is provided in the following sections:

References:

1 Mastro TD, de Vincenz I. Probabilities of sexual HIV-1

transmission . AIDS 1996; 10 :575–82

2 Royce R, Sena A, Cates Jr W, et al. Sexual transmission of

HIV. N Engl J Med 1997; 336 :1072–8