Question
Is my family at risk?
7 December 2023. Related: All topics, HIV transmission, Newly diagnosed.
My friend diagnosed HIV positive 2 days back with low CD4 count of 56 and viral load is 100000. Doctor prescribed Biktarvy and Bactrim. He is 29 years old and unmarried and staying with parents, grand parents and 5 siblings. Doctor told that he is having HIV from last 10 to 15 years so is there any risk of HIV transmission to his parents, grand parents and 5 siblings in any other way ?
Do entire family need to go for HIV testing ?
They all are staying together from by birth.
Answer
Hi, how are you and your friend doing?
It is good that he was started on treatment straight from testing positive.
It is isn’t possible for your friends doctor to know when he became HIV positive.
Each person responds differently to HIV and will all have different viral load and CD4 test results when found to be HIV positive.
Living with people and sharing communal spaces is not a risk for HIV.
Does your friend know how he came to be HIV positive? Most commonly it is through sex and/or needle use.
It can also be passed on from mum to baby. Do you know if your friends family have been tested before? While your friend is not a risk for passing on HIV, it is still advised for people to regularly check their own status so they can be aware of their own health.
Josh.