Undetectable”… But Still Infectious?
Q. I’ve been HIV-positive for a while, but now with the protease inhibitors the viral load in my bloodstream is down to undetectable levels. Even with the new, sensitive tests, I’m undetectable. I feel like I’m practically HIV negative again. Do I still need to worry about giving HIV to my partners?A. It’s great that you’re responding well to the new anti-viral drugs you’re one of many who are finding that a combination of anti-viral drugs has their spirits and their T-cells up, and their viral load to below detectable levels. Unfortunately, “undetectable” viral load does not mean that the virus is no longer in your body; it means that the level of virus in the blood is below the level that the test can detect. There still may be HIV in your testicles, however, or in your lymph nodes, or other places in the body, that’s actively reproducing.What this means for sex is that you cannot yet throw away the condoms for fucking. Some HIV positive men and this is part of what lies behind all t
