Question
Is kissing a risk for KS? Does undetectable mean HIV negative?
24 June 2015. Related: All topics, CD4 and viral load, Opportunistic infections.
Hello
My boyfriend who is hiv+ told me he checked and found out hiv was not detected. His been on ARVs for two years. Does that mean he is now HIV negative?
He also has kaposi sarcoma and is on chemotherapy. Is it okay to kiss him because I read that kaposi sarcoma can be transmitted through saliva.
Answer
Hi
You are not at risk of catching Kaposi’s Sarcoma (KS) from kissing. Although KS is linked to a virus called HHV-8 that can be transmitted by kissing, you are already likely to have had this virus for many years and it is likely to harmless to you.
The KS virus is already very common in adults but it only leads to KS in some HIV positive people, becasue their immune system is weaker
In people who are HIV negative, the KS-virus does not develop into KS.
On your second question, having an undetectable viral load is not the same as being HIV negative.
Your boyfriend is still HIV positive and he still has HIV, but just at such low levels that standard tests are not able to find it.
Hi Celine, KS occurs in an HIV positive person when HIV has damaged their immune system and they have a low CD4 count. This will happen at the same time they have a high viral load. KS cannot be directly transmitted. The virus that causes it can be by kissing but in someone HIV negative, it will not develop into KS.
When viral load is high, risk of HIV transmission is increased. This can increase the risk of KS in someone already with the virus and does not take treatment, but KS itself will not be passed on directly.
What I dont understand is, if the boyfriend has KS this means the viral load wil be higher each time you get an infection /symptom until it has cleared up and then build up the immune system again for the viral load to get low. Is this correct.
Viral load is like a see saw. For KS to have come about the viral load must have gone up therefore could be transmissible correct or not?