Question

Am I infectious if I am passive and my viral load is under 50c/mL?

21 October 2008. Related: All topics, HIV transmission.

Am I still infectious if my viral load is undetectable and I’m passive?

Answer

Answer: Simon Collins

The answer is very likely to be ‘yes’, even though the risk will be lower now than before you started treatment.

However, for gay men, there is very little data to know this risk as most transmission risk studies are based on vaginal sex in heterosexual couples. If blood viral load is undetectable, we’d hope, as with other genital fluids, that viral load will also be <50 copies/mL in rectal tissue for most people.

There are no data on viral load in rectal tissue from gay men on HAART.

The risk to HIV-negative partners with depend on many factors including this, whether they are circumcised, how vigourous and long the sex is, their genetic susceptibility to HIV