Does Oral Sex Lead To HIV?

Brief Answer: HIV test Detailed Answer: Hello and welcome to healthcaremagic I am Dr. Kakkar. I have gone through your concern and I have understood it. Oral sex (Fellatio) carries a lesser risk of HIV transmission than Vaginal sex OR Anal sex, unless the lady giving oral sex has an open sore in the oral mucosa(e.g herpes labiales/ syphilitic chancre etc). Negative Ab test by ELISA for HIV type 1 and 2, implies that the person is free of HIV provided the last sexual contact was 3 months (window period of HIV) prior to testing. There should be a gap of 3 months rather than 3 weeks between last sexual contact and HIV type 1 & 2 antibody testing by ELISA to make a definitive diagnosis. If ELISA for HIV type 1 and 2 comes out to be negative after 3 months of last sexual contact, that rules out HIV. However, if the person has had sexual contacts in between, then Negative Ab test by ELISA for HIV type 1 and 2, does not rule out HIV with certainity because he/she might have acquired HIV from someone which wont show up in test, so early. Therefore, if the girl in question has had sexual contacts with others over the past 3 months, she might test negative but she can still transmit the virus if she was infected. HIV PCR is a very sensitive test, It has a window period of 2 weeks(unlike 3 months for antibody based tests), therefore if your friends RT HIV PCR test comes out negative at 14 days post sexual contact, it would rule out HIV. regards

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Brief Answer: HIV testing Detailed Answer: Hi. Thanks for the additional information. HIV Combo test reduces the window period of detection of HIV to 28 days/4 weeks i.e if the person is negative by this test after 4 weeks of last sexual contact then it can be concluded fairly accurately, that the person is HIV negative. In your friend's case however, the girl in question was tested but what about her sexual contacts, if any, over the past 4 weeks before testing? If she did'nt had any sexual contacts in the preceding 4 weeks before this test, then she is clean and your friend is probably clean as well. However if she has had sexual encounters in the preceding 4 weeks then you cannot rely on this particular test report, inspite of being negative. HIV Combo test/DUO test is also known as the 28 day HIV test. This test can detect the virus from 28 days after infection and is called a "Duo" test OR "Combo" test because it combines an antibody test for HIV type 1 & 2 strains of the virus along with an antigen test for the P 24 antigen. So the HIV DUO test can detect an infection before the antibody test can, it is used for diagnosing HIV much earlier in the course of infection. The test, is considered 99.8% accurate at 28 days, this accuracy increases to 99.9% at 90 days after any potential contact. Thus, if the Antigen test is negative after 28 days or 4 weeks of the last sexual contact, then it almost certainly rules out HIV. However, even then a negative result needs to be confirmed with a second test after 90 days, if the exposure is less than 3 months ago. Therefore, if the girl in question has had sexual contacts with others over the past 28 days OR 4 weeks, she might test negative but she can still transmit the virus if she was contracted HIV from someone, in the preceding 4 weeks, because she will still be in the window period of detection by HIV Combo test. regards

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Brief Answer: Hiv test Detailed Answer: Hi. If the person performing oral sex has HIV, blood from their mouth may enter the body of the person receiving oral sex through the lining of the urethra (the opening at the tip of the penis) or through cuts and sores. Even though oral sex carries a lower risk of HIV transmission than other sexual activities, the risk is not zero. The exact risk has not been measured because most people who practice oral sex also practice other forms of sex during the same encounter. Yes, the risk is definitely very very less but as i said it not Zero. Therefore, no matter how minimal the risk is, it is better to get tested at appropriate time and have all the doubts cleared. Always practice safe sex with a condom. regards

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Brief Answer: HIV Testing Detailed Answer: Hi. My answer to all the questions is 'Yes'. Even though the risk is very very small through receptive oral sex from an HIV inflicted person, it is not Zero. HIV can be transmitted through exchange of blood through small unnoticed wounds, though saliva is not infectious. However, blood no matter how less in amount, would contain enough concentration of HIV,to infect. regards

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Brief Answer: HIV Infection Detailed Answer: Hi. Concentration of HIV in the blood (plasma viral load), varies over the course of the disease. In the untreated patient, highest viral load occurs within a few weeks following initial infection. It can be measured by RT PCR DNA which would tell you the exact viral load. HIV is much more likely to be transmitted from one individual to another when there is a high concentration of HIV. e.g if a person has 20,000 copies/cu mm he/she is much more infectious than a person who has only 20 copies/ml OR is undetectable by RT PCR. However, an HIV +ve person is still infectious even with less viral loads and even a person with undetectable viral load by RT PCR, can still transmit the disease. It would be hard to say, how much blood is required for infecion because it would depend on the concerntration of virus. i.e less amount of blood would be enough to transmit HIV if a person has 20,000 copies/cu mm, as he/she is much more infectious than a person who has only 20 copies/ml. It all depends upon the viral load of the innoculum. regards

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