Question

How did I get HIV?

7 May 2010. Related: CD4 and viral load, HIV transmission, Newly diagnosed.

Hello

I tested HIV positive in March 2010 and I am trying to figure out for how long I possibly could have been positive. Below I give my sexual record since 2007.

Apart from one incident mentioned below, I had one sexual partner (Call it A) in 2007 who had tested HIV negative in 2006.

Around October/November 2007 I had one sexual encounter with another woman. (I used a condom and I remember I was careful to prevent her fluids from getting to my skin)

I tested for HIV about December 2007 and got a negative result.

I tested for HIV again on July 28th 2008 (I am very sure of this date) and got another negative result

All through 2008 I had one sexual partner, person A, that I mentioned above.

All though 2009 and 2010 I had one sexual partner still person A. Other than the one time encounter I mentioned earlier during which I also used I condom I never had any other sexual partner.

On March 30 2010, I felt sick and the doctor recommended I take an HIV test which turned out to be positive! I had a viral load and CD4 count test last week which were viral load of 390 and CD4 of 700. The Doctor said that was good.

I was wondering when I could have been infected since my last test on July 28th 2008 was negative. I had only one sexual partner all that time apart from 2007 the one time sexual encounter mentioned. My partner has also tested positive (I contacted her to do a test when mine showed positive). But my partner says she did not have any sexual encounter with anyone else other than me.

My Question.

What is the possibility that my negative July 28th 2008 HIV test was wrong?

Assuming I was positive then or under serocoversion could this have been possible since the last sexual encounter with another person was in 2007 and I used a condom? Do you think I got HIV from that 2007 encounter or possibly something else after July 28th 2008?

As for my viral load and CD4 results, do they give a gauge as to how long I could have been positive?

Thanks.

Answer

Answer: Charlotte Walker

Thank you for your question.

It is very difficult to say exactly how you got HIV. Many people with HIV never manage to find out how they became infected. How you live with the virus is often a more important question to focus on than how you got it.

Modern day tests are extremely accurate at about 99.5% correct so it would be very unlikely that you test in July 2008 was wrong. The tests are usually accurate 3-4 weeks after infection so your test in July 2008 would not have shown negative if you got HIV in 2007. Please remember that there are other ways than unprotected sex that you can get HIV for example through sharing needles or infected blood products. For more information on HIV transmission and testing please follow this link to the i-Base factsheet.

Everyone is different and so the way our bodies respond to HIV is also slightly different. For this reason it is impossible to use your viral load and CD4 count results to determine when you were infected. About 20% of people find their CD4 count decreases and they have to start treatment within 1-2 years of infection, 50% of people live without needing treatment for 5-10 years and about 25% for over 10 years. That’s why even with a high CD4 count and low viral load it is difficult to say exactly when you were infected.

For now the most important thing is to focus on your health. To get the information you need about HIV treatment and CD4 counts please follow these links to sections in the i-Base ‘Introduction to Combination Therapy’ guide.