Question
Can I catch someone else's strain of HIV if the condom breaks?
26 October 2010. Related: All topics, HIV reinfection (superinfection), HIV transmission, Resistance.
Hi,
I have met a girl who is also HIV positive we have had sex we used a condom but it broke she is undetectable on a combination of Kaletra I think also I am taking Atripla and am also undetectable what are the chances that I could have caught her strain of HIV? She says that she does not have any resistance but I am quite worried
Answer
Thank you for your question.
It is not known whether re-infection itself is an issue. If neither of you have resistance, the only risk is STIs. If you are both undetectable and have been for more than six months then the likelihood of you being infectious is extremely small. For more information it might help you to read a review of this study. It may help also to read the answer to this similar question.
When a condom breaks it is the woman who is more at risk than the man. The amount of penis exposed through a breakage is very small compared to the large surface area of the vagina which could have come into contact with the man’s semen.