Question

Have I re-infected my partner?

1 July 2010. Related: All topics, HIV reinfection (superinfection), HIV transmission, Newly diagnosed.

Me and my partner got diagnosed for HIV type 1 last week. I know he very, very likely caught it from me unfortunately. So does this mean we have the same strain and resistance? I only ask because my boyfriend’s CD4 levels were much lower than mine but then he is older so that might have had something to do with it.

I’m panicking that I might have re-infected him! I feel so guilty as he doesn’t deserve this and I think knowing I’d re-infected him would make it so much worse. Thanks in advance :)

Answer

Answer: Charlotte Walker

Thank you for your question.

I am sorry to hear of your recent diagnosis.

If your partner caught HIV from you then you would both have the same strain with the same resistance providing neither of you is already on treatment. You should both check your resistance profile if you want to continue to have unprotected sex. That way if you do have different resistance profiles, you can avoid re-infecting one another with resistant strains.

If you are concerned about the strain of HIV that you and your partner have then there are tests that can be done to see if you share the same strain of HIV. These tests would also prevent future re-infection if you find that your strains are different although if you both have non-resistant strains then re-infection itself is not thought to be an issue.

Your partners lower CD4 levels could be due to many things. Everyone’s immune system is slightly different so he could naturally have a lower number of CD4 cells than you. Other things can affect a CD4 count like stress, age, exercise, time of day the test is taken, lab error, underlying infections, lack of sleep etc.

Please do not worry. There is no need for you to feel guilty. The most important this is that you are there to support each other through this difficult time of coming to terms with your HIV status.

It is important whatever your CD4 count to begin preparing yourselves for treatment even if this is a long way off. To help you to do this please read the i-Base ‘Introduction to Combination Therapy’ guidebook.