Question
Do HIV meds work like PrEP to stop me becoming reinfected?
29 December 2022. Related: All topics, HIV reinfection (superinfection), HIV transmission.
Does HIV meds also works like PrEP? That it will protect/prevent me from getting new HIV virus from someone?
Sometimes i’m afraid by having sex with someomlne especially stranger because i am undetectable and always keep adherence with my meds.
Answer
Hi there
Thanks – great questions.
In general, you are right, ART should prevent reinfection – at least in the majority of cases.
However, if your partner is not on effective treatment, there can be a small risk of reinfection. This is only if they already have drug resistance to the meds in your combination. And even if they do have resistance to one drug, it is incredibly rare that they would have resistance to all your meds.
The actual risk varies depending on the drugs you are taking and the level of background drug resistance in the country you live in. For example, about 1 in 10 people in the UK have resistance to at least one HIV drug when they are diagnosed.
Most people do not worry about reinfection. But rare cases are sometimes reported of reinfection with multidrug resistance. This is only usually found out because viral load rebounded unexpectedly, after several years of really good adherence.
There is more information about reinfection at this link:
i-base.info/ttfa/section-2/7-reinfection-with-hiv/
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