Question
Is U=U real?
26 June 2023. Related: All topics, HIV transmission, Sero different couples.
Hello, I would like to know if U=U is by luck or chance and it doesn’t work scientifically.
The reason I’m asking this is that, here where I live there are people who are on medication with suppressed viral load but we keep on hearing that they infected other people.
With this I fail to understand the scientific backup of this notion. Is it by luck that some people don’t get infected or is it real and scientific as you claim? Thanks.
Answer
Thanks for your question and for letting us post this online. The evidence for U=U is definitely scientific. It has been proved in many studies.
When viral load is undetectable, there is no risk of transmission to your partner.
It sounds like the discussions are based on gossip and not evidence. Sometimes people are blamed for infections that they did not cause. The things people are saying are not true. It is good that you challenged this.
This was also shown in lots of studies. Sometimes partners in a relationship just became positive from other partners.
Please see this link for more info on U=U:
https://i-base.info/u-equals-u/
Hi Anna, thanks for your question.
HIV meds lower the amount of HIV all over your body. This reduces all risk for transmission.
When your viral load is undetectable, the risk of sexual transmission is reduced to zero.
For breastfeeding, the risk becomes very very low, but doesn’t quite reach zero though.
The risk is low enough for breastfeeding to still be recommended in many countries. The option to breastfeed is also okay in other countries too, even when botle feeding with formula milk is still recommended as the first option.
Does U=U works on breastfeeding?