POZ Community Forums
Main Forums => Living With HIV => Topic started by: clarke on July 11, 2006, 12:21:40 pm
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I didn't see anything about initial infection and transmission of the virus before detection in the "Lessons".
From what I was told by CDC educators who were teaching a few of us in TN., if one becomes infected today via sex/needle sharing, then the "newly infected" person can infect others within a very short period of time, and they are very infectious, even before detection.
Has this changed, or did I miss something?
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I think this is still true!
Coen
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I have heard that newly infected individuals can be quite contagious because their viral load is so high. I've heard that from a physician-friend of mine and at the local HIV/AIDS service organization, but I cannot cite to any publication or research article.
Steve
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My question is if you have an undetectable load i.e.. that of <50 how likely can you infect someone? From my understanding it is during the transitional period where the viral load is the highest that most people get infected?
Since you have so little of the virus how much can be passed on? Has there ever been a study, or a scientists just so busy jumping on the christian bandwagon they are concentrating too much on foreskin?
Just my thought
Johnny
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Clarke,
I will point this thread out to Tim Horn (he wrote the lesson) and perhaps he will add his own comments.
It is true that a newly infected person can transmit their virus and blood, cervicovaginal fluids and semen can be very infectious in the first few months.
However, as most people don't know their status during primary infection, this is why condoms must be used unless you can be certain, through testing together, of your partner's status.
I suspect this recently infected/highly infectious information was left out of the lessons purely as an oversight. It might also be because the transmission lesson was written with people from the Am I Infected forum in mind and something like this would probably spook them more than inform them. If you see what I mean. I was one of the people who was consulted during the writing of the transmission lesson and I can tell you that although I am absolutely aware of this issue, it never occurred to me to suggest its inclusion in the lesson.
Johnny,
Even though a person's serum viral load is undetectable, it is no guarantee that their semen viral load is also undetectable. There have been studies that show detectable levels in semen of men who are undetectable on the serum viral load tests.
However, it is generally agreed that a person with an undetectable viral load has body fluids that are less infectious - but this does NOT mean UN-infectious. We still have to be cautious no matter what our viral load might be.
Ann
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On "My question is if you have an undetectable load i.e.. that of <50 how likely can you infect someone?" the answer is probably not likely at all if you are having man-on-woman sex with a regular partner. This is confirmed by several long-term studies in Africa and Europe.
No equivalent study exists for man-on-man (anal) sex (can we have one please).
It is also wrong to conclude that this applies to casual partners (where immunological factors may be different).
I am reporting the science to date, which is extensive but incomplete. I am happy to post links to the studies. I understand this opens either a can of worms or an encouraging possibility in some people's minds, eg that treated HIV infection below a certain level (by blood viral load) may be uninfectious. But, maybe, just maybe, this time the biology is in our favour, and we are not always the menace to the public and our partners' health that the courts and press make us out to be.
Me personally, undetectable or no, I would always use a condom with an HIV-negative partner.
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I found this http://www.metrokc.gov/health/apu/infograms/viral-load-1002.htm (http://www.metrokc.gov/health/apu/infograms/viral-load-1002.htm). Seems as if there are still some dangers - but you would all have to agree that the dangers are lower.
R
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Has there ever been a study, or a scientists just so busy jumping on the christian bandwagon they are concentrating too much on foreskin?
I'm not sure what is meant by the above remark, much less how one is supposed to interpret it. ???
The bottom line for me (no pun intended :D ) is the educational part of being newly infected and the potential of infecting others. When I taught HIV/AIDS in TN. I told whomever I was teaching that the newly infected individual is "most" infectious between the time of initial infection and the time of detection. Which to me, made total sense, as many flu viruses work the same way.
The word "undetectable" means little to us as we know that we have the virus, we still have the potential to infect each other or others with "meaner" strains of the virus.