Question
Did my husband only recently became positive with these CD4 and viral load results?
6 August 2020. Related: All topics, CD4 and viral load, HIV transmission, Newly diagnosed, South Africa, Starting treatment.
My husband has been diagnosed with HIV and his viral load is 3200 and CD4 count is 460. He is not on treatment yet as he is newly diagnosed. Does this mean he contracted it recently? He claims he has not slept with any one else, besides getting a blow job from another women about two months ago.
Answer
Hi there
I am sorry to hear about your husband being positive. This must be a difficult time for both of you.
Although these blood tests can give a good indication of how HIV has progressed everyone reacts very differently. Different people can become positive at the same time and one person can progress very quickly while the other is barely affected.
These results are similar to average rates for a recent infection though, so if your husband is saying this was his only risk, then the timing might be okay. Receiving oral sex though would be a very rare and unusual way to catch HIV because the risk would be very low.
Even if you both wanted these details, there isn’t a test for proving them, so it might be better to just focus on how you want to move forward.
Modern HIV treatment (called ART) is very effective. It lets people lead very normal healthy lives including having a family. Someone on effective treatment also protects their partner from HIV, even if not using a condom. See: U=U: Undetectable = Untransmittable
This guide has more information about ART: Introduction to ART
Please let me know if you have other questions.
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