Q and A

Question

Can I have sex with a HIV positive person and not get infected?

7 December 2010. Related: All topics, HIV testing, HIV transmission.

Hi,

Is it possible to have sex with a HIV positive person and not get infected?

I had unprotected sex with a woman last year in September and in November she tested positive and she is on treatment now. I went for my an ELISA 4th generation test in February and it was negative.

I went again after a week, still negative. The woman is 100% sure that I was the last person she slept with before her test, hence why I am asking this question. Thank you

Answer

Answer: Charlotte Walker

Thank you for your question.

It is possible to have sex with someone who is HIV positive and not become infected. HIV s a difficult virus to catch and the risk is probably less than 1 in 300 (if the person is not on treatment).

If the HIV positive person has an undetectable viral load on treatment, this small risk becomes zero.

in the same way that not every time you have unprotected sex with a woman does she become pregnant. You were just lucky.

Please see Q1 and Q5 at this link:
https://i-base.info/qa/what-are-the-most-asked-questions

Note: this answer was modified in January 2018 to include a new link. i-Base no longer answers individual questions about testing and risk.

26 comments

  1. Roy Trevelion •

    I’m sorry but unfortunately we don’t have the resources to answer more questions about transmission and testing. This information service is about HIV treatment for people who are HIV positive.

    Most questions about transmission and testing have been answered here:
    http://i-base.info/qa/factsheets/hiv-transmission-and-testing

  2. ntombentsha •

    I have been in this relationship for the past thirteen years having the HIV test every now and then, also did Elisa test in the past few weeks the results came back Negative. My male partner tested HIV positive last week I did rapid test again last week and it came negative. What is the cause for this? I am really worried!

  3. Simon Collins •

    Either search the i-Base website (or Google) for “HIV seroconversion”.

  4. Precy •

    What are the early symptoms of hiv infection and how long does it take for these?

  6. Hamidullah •

    I did one time six with girl and didn’t use condom but i really don’t know that she had HIV virus or not but when should i test to make sure that i am not in risk of HIV?
    Please advise at your earliest convenience.

    Thanks

  7. Simon Collins •

    Please see this link:

    http://i-base.info/qa/10439

  8. charlse mark •

    i have sex once with a woman last 2 months after the sex she told me that she is hiv positive but is undetective, am afraid to go to test, my heart beat fast everyday, my mind is not at rest what do i do?

  9. Robin Jakob •

    It is common for one partner in a relationship to be positive and the other negative. This could be down to luck or other genetic factors.

    Now that you know that your partner is positive you can have safe sex using condoms. The positive person being on treatment also dramatically lowers the risk of transmission when condoms are not used.

  10. percy •

    I have been with this woman for 4yrs and had unprotected sex for 3yrs and her results were positive but I just got tested am negative. Are they accurate?