HIV can be found in very small amounts in saliva. But there are proteins and enzymes in saliva which reduce how infectious the virus is. This makes it impossible for HIV to spread through kissing. Show HIV does survive in other body fluids like blood, semen, vaginal fluid, anal mucous and breast milk. It spreads when these fluids are exchanged and shared. The most common way that HIV spreads is through sex without a condom. This includes anal and oral sex too. HIV can also spread by sharing needles. It can also be passed from an HIV-positive pregnant woman to her unborn baby. This is rare as HIV tests are given during pregnancy and steps are taken to stop passing the infection on. If you think you've been exposed to HIV, but it was more than 3 days ago, wait for 7 weeks after the sex before taking a test. Before 7 weeks, the test won't be accurate. During this time you should not have sex or use a condom when you have sex. Background: Oral transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) by the millions of HIV-infected individuals is a rare event, even when infected blood and exudate is present. Saliva of viremic individuals usually contains only noninfectious components of HIV indicating virus breakdown. Objective: To determine whether unknown HIV inhibitory mechanisms may explain the almost complete absence of infectious HIV in the saliva. Methods: Since most of the infectious HIV that is shed mucosally by asymptomatic individuals is found in, produced by, and transmitted by infected mononuclear leukocytes, we determined whether saliva, which is hypotonic, may disrupt these infected cells, thereby preventing virus multiplication and cell-to-cell transmission of HIV. Specifically, we measured (1) whether mononuclear leukocytes were lysed by saliva and (2) whether the lysis by saliva inhibits the multiplication of HIV and other viruses in infected leukocytes and other cells. Results: Saliva rapidly disrupted 90% or more of blood mononuclear leukocytes and other cultured cells. Concomitantly, there was a 10000-fold or higher inhibition of the multiplication of HIV and surrogate viruses. Further experiments indicated that the cell disruption is due to the hypotonicity of saliva: Conclusions: Hypotonic disruption may be a major mechanism by which saliva kills infected mononuclear leukocytes and prevents their attachment to mucosal epithelial cells and production of infectious HIV, thereby preventing transmission. Implications for the known oral HIV transmission by milk and seminal fluid, as well as potential oral transmission to contacts and health care workers, are considered. This effective salivary defense may be applicable medically to interdict vaginal, rectal, and oral transmission of HIV by infected cells in seminal fluid or milk by the use of anticellular substances. You can only get HIV by coming into direct contact with certain body fluids from a person with HIV who has a detectable viral load. These fluids are:
For transmission to occur, the HIV in these fluids must get into the bloodstream of an HIV-negative person through a mucous membrane (found in the rectum, vagina, mouth, or tip of the penis), through open cuts or sores, or by direct injection (from a needle or syringe). People with HIV who take HIV medicine as prescribed and get and keep an undetectable viral load can live long and healthy lives and will not transmit HIV to their HIV-negative partners through sex. How Is HIV Spread from Person to Person?HIV can only be spread through specific activities. In the United States, the most common ways are:
Less common ways are:
HIV is spread only in extremely rare cases by:
Learn more about how HIV is passed from one person to another. Does HIV Viral Load Affect Getting or Transmitting HIV?Yes. Viral load is the amount of HIV in the blood of someone who has HIV. If taken as prescribed, HIV medicine (called antiretroviral therapy or ART) can reduce a person’s HIV viral load very low level, which keeps the immune system working and prevents illness. This is called viral suppression, defined as having less than 200 copies of HIV per milliliter of blood. HIV medicine can also make the viral load so low that a standard lab test can’t detect it. This is called having an undetectable level viral load. Almost everyone who takes HIV medicine as prescribed can achieve an undetectable viral load, usually within 6 months after starting treatment. As noted above, people with HIV who take HIV medicine as prescribed and get and keep an undetectable viral load can live long and healthy lives and will not transmit HIV to their HIV-negative partners through sex. HIV medicine is a powerful tool for preventing sexual transmission of HIV. But it works only if the HIV-positive partner gets and keeps an undetectable viral load. Not everyone taking HIV medicine has an undetectable viral load. To stay undetectable, people with HIV must take HIV medicine as prescribed and visit their health care provider regularly to get a viral load test. Learn more. How is HIV Not Spread?HIV is not spread by:
HIV can’t be passed through healthy, unbroken skin. How Do You Get AIDS?You can’t “catch” AIDS, which stands for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. AIDS is the most advanced stage of HIV infection. If a person has HIV and is not on HIV treatment, the virus will weaken the body’s immune system and the person will progress to AIDS. People with AIDS have such badly damaged immune systems that they get a number of severe illnesses, called opportunistic infections. However, thanks to today’s effective HIV treatment, most people with HIV in the U.S. do not have AIDS. People with HIV who take HIV medicine as prescribed and get and keep an undetectable viral load can stay healthy and will not progress to AIDS. People who are HIV-negative can prevent getting HIV by using pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), medicine that can stop HIV from taking hold in the body. There is also post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), a short course of HIV medicines taken very soon after a possible exposure to HIV to prevent the virus from taking hold in your body. PEP must be started within 72-hours of a possible exposure to be effective. Learn more about these HIV prevention tools and other ways to prevent the sexual transmission of HIV. Can HIV survive in saliva?No, you cannot catch HIV from kissing. Evidence shows that the HIV virus is spread through the exchange of bodily fluids such as blood, semen and vaginal fluids, but not saliva.
Can HIV be transmitted through saliva or urine?HIV is not spread by: Air or water. Mosquitoes, ticks, or other insects. Saliva, tears, sweat, feces, or urine that is not mixed with the blood of a person with HIV.
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