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 bloodstream. 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. The HIV tests that are most frequently used in GUM clinics can detect HIV infection one month after HIV has been transmitted.1

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, and 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 1% (one time in every 100).2 However HIV is more likely to be transmitted if the HIV-positive man has a high viral load, or if either partner has another sexually transmitted infection.3 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 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 British Association for Sexual Health and HIV (BASHH). BASHH statement on HIV window period. British Association for Sexual Health and HIV, 15 March 2010.

2 Jin F, Jansson J, Law M, Prestage GP, Zablotska I, Imrie JCG, Kippax SC, Kaldor JM, Grulich AE, Wilson DP. Per-contact probability of HIV transmission in homosexual men in Sydney in the era of HAART. AIDS, 2010;24(6):907-913.

3 Zuckerman RA, Whittington WLH, Celum CL, Collis TK, Lucchetti AJ, Sanchez JL, Hughes JP, Sanchez JL, Coombs RW. Higher concentrations of HIV RNA in rectal mucosa secretions than in blood and seminal plasma, among men who have sex with men, independent of antiretroviral therapy. Journal of Infectious Diseases, 2004;189:156-161.