Question
Can someone be HIV negative but an HIV “carrier”?
26 March 2010. Related: All topics.
Answer
No, people are either HIV positive or HIV negative. There is no such thing as a carrier – and the word is not relevant to HIV.
You cannot tell if anyone is HIV positive. The way to know if someone is HIV positive is if they tell you about their status and they have had conclusive evidence from an HIV test.
For more information on testing and transmission please follow this link to the i-Base factsheet.
Hi Nakitare, is there a reason you do not use treatment? and have you had recent CD4 count/viral load testing? Even if you cannot feel the effects of HIV it is still likely to be having an impact on your health. HIV will effect everybody differently and there are some people where the effects are slower and take much longer to cause problems.
Hi am HIV positive but I don’t use any of medicine either pep bills or ARVs but am just healthy no symptoms but am positive for now ten years. what can mean?
Hi OnlyMe. This is a service about HIV and you already know that you do not have HIV and that your children are also not at risk.
It is likely that the trauma of being assaulted makes you still focus on HIV being involved and counselling over the assault might help you to stop linking symptoms now with this.
Hi all you who had symptoms but negative tests. Have you found out what is causing the symptoms. I had a high risk years ago after an assault.
I was tested negative several times after this happened. However, now years later I have all symptoms of an infection. Neuropathy in my legs, sinusitis and bronchitis. Had to laser my eyes. I have two children. They also have many weird symptoms. I’m worried that I have infected them.
I have done also pcr tests for hiv1 and 2. So, basically it can’t be HIV. But what is it? What is killing my immune system? I’m going crazy.
Please, answer if you have found answers.
Hi Rejoice, as you have done multiple tests and after so long from exposure, you are HIV negative. Your symptoms are not being caused by HIV. You cannot be a ‘carrier’ of HIV without testing positive. Have you spoken with your doctor about the symptoms you are experiencing?
Please I got exposed to someone whose HIV status is unknown a year ago now,but after 6months I started having symptoms like, hearts palpitations, severe back pains, joints ache,neck stiffness,ear infections,a lumps in my armpit, serious headache,but I have gone for test three different times ,but all test was negative,yet the symptoms on.
Please does it means a Carrie??
Hi Kevin, is girlfriend on treatment for HIV? If she is it is likely that she means she cannot pass on HIV. This is explained by U=U: https://i-base.info/guides/testing/uu-undetectable-untransmittable
After a course of PEP, the earliest you can test is 6 weeks after your last dose. PEP can interfere with test results if you do so earlier. At 6 weeks you can use a 4th generation antibody/antigen test.
Hi I had a girlfriend she told me she was HIV positive so she pleaded to me to love her the way she was so I did .we did sex like 48 hours but I started taking pep as early as 24 hours.but she also told me me she had been sleeping with other men who are not HIV positive and when they went for a test they were negative.should be tested negative because I am done with pep bills I was given by the doctor?
Hi Nonkululeko, there are a number of factors that will change HIV transmission risk. A few are discussed here: https://i-base.info/guides/testing/risks-for-transmission
Has your partner only recently tested positive? How are they coping?
My partner tested positive, and I tested negative but we’ve been together for three years sleeping without condoms