Question
How can my partner test HIV positive and I test HIV negative?
16 January 2018. Related: All topics, HIV testing, HIV transmission, Newly diagnosed, Sero different couples.
I went to test HIV with my partner.
I found out that she is positive and I was negative. After six months i went back I tested negative.
Please help as I don’t understand.
Answer
Thanks for your question as your situation is very common.
Has your partner’s positive HIV test been checked by a second test in a lab. All rapid tests, need a positive result to be confirmed. This is because of the small chance of a false-positive result.
If the second test (called “western blot”) is positive then your partner is definitely positive. In this case, how is your partner doing and does she have support?
Even if your partner is HIV positive, it is common for one person in a couple to test positive and the other negative. This can happen even if they have bot been using condoms. This is mostly just luck. Over time, most people will catch HIV if they continue to have sex without a condom.
Even though you have not caught HIV so far, you can still catch HIV in the future. Genetics may explain some cases of protection, but most are just down to luck and chance.
Now you know your partners HIV status, you can still stay together and have sex safely. Condoms or PrEP are both really effective at stopping HIV and not sharing needles.
Also, after your partner gets an undetectable viral load on treatment, the risk drops to zero – even without condoms. The PARTNER study reported no transmission with an undetectable viral load. this was after about 900 couple had sex 58,000 without condoms (over several years).
Note: This answer was updated in January 2018 and October 2014 from a question from June 2011. i-Base no longer answers individual questions about HIV transmission and risk. (See: Question 1, 5, 6 and 9 at this link).
How is your partner doing?
HIV is not an easy virus to catch and you have just been lucky.
Answers to questions on testing are already online at the FAQ page.
https://i-base.info/qa/factsheets/hiv-transmission-and-testing
or in this guide:
http://i-base.info/guides/testing
This is a report of how HIV treatment reduces the risk of HIV.
https://i-base.info/qa-on-the-partner-study/
My partner know HIV+ when his CD4 down below 200. We don’t use condom. I have my blood check 3 time for 18 months, my result keep negative. Why? what can I help for medical experiment.
Hi Eunik
Firstly this means that your girlfriend will need a lot of care and support. She is dealing with both pregnancy and finding out she is positive. She will likely start HIV treatment very soon if she has not started already. This is good both for her health and the baby.
Your results show you have been lucky. There is a 95% chance that you are negative – probably higher. The test in three months is just to confirm you didn;t become positive in the last 6-8 weeks which would have been too soon for the test to detect anything.
One your girlfriend has an undetectable viral load on treatment the risk of transmission from sex is so low as to be close to zero.
https://i-base.info/qa-on-the-partner-study
My girlfriend is 4-5 months pregnant and she tested twice and shes HIV positive. I also went to test and I found that I’m HIV negative and then they told me to come back after 3 months. What does that mean?
Hi Msutfu, thanks for our comment. If your partner is on treatment and has an undetectable viral load, then the risk of HIV for you is negligible and perhaps gets close to zero.
https://i-base.info/qa-on-the-partner-study
If your partner is not on HIV meds yet, then using condoms with prevent the risk of transmission.
I am negative my partner is positive we are not using condom.
What you can do to find out about your HIV status is to get tested.
Most questions about transmission and testing have been answered here:
https://i-base.info/qa/factsheets/hiv-transmission-and-testing
What can I do? I just found that my wife is on HIV treatment. Myself I don’t my status
I’m sorry to hear that your partner tested HIV positive recently. Testing positive can be a tough time for many people. It’s important that she talks to the doctor about HIV treatment (ART) and that she has support while she discusses it with them.
It’s a good idea to talk about results, such as CD4 count and viral load. And to find out what HIV meds are available to her.
Most questions about transmission and testing have been answered here:
https://i-base.info/qa/factsheets/hiv-transmission-and-testing
My partner tested negative this year in march, and she do a second test this month, she’s positive and I test negative. Our last unprotected sex was in June. How many chances do I have to be positive