Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsHow HIV Transmission OccursAssessing Open WoundsReducing Exposure Risk
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
How HIV Transmission Occurs
Assessing Open Wounds
Reducing Exposure Risk
Any small wound or break in the skin is considered a potential entry point for blood or certain bodily fluids—vaginal fluids, semen, pre-seminal fluids, or rectal fluids—to transmit HIV. To reduce your risk of HIV, it’s important to fully understand how transmission occurs, how to assess an open wound, and ways you can reduce your risk of exposure.
When discussing HIV risk, it’s important to first establish the four conditions that must take place in order for HIV transmission to occur:
Determining whether an activity is “high risk” or “low risk” is, therefore, dependent upon how efficiently an activity satisfies each of these four conditions.
Nattakorn Maneerat / EyeEm / Getty Images
HIV can be transmitted when infected blood, vaginal fluids, semen or pre-seminal fluid, or rectal fluids, come into contact with any wound or damaged tissue, including small cuts, scratches, or open sores.
HIV isn’t transmitted via saliva during kissing, but in rare cases, it can be spread through kissing if both partners have sores or bleeding gums.
Reducing Risk of Exposure
Instead, a 0.5% “per exposure” risk is meant to indicate that an average of one infection will occur out of 200 people who engage in a particular activity. It doesn’t mean that you need to do something 200 times in order to get infected.
Keep in mind that risk estimates are based on two factors and two factors alone—that one person has HIV and the other doesn’t. Additional co-factors, such as co-existingsexually transmitted infections(STIs), general health, and the infected person’sviral load, can further compound risk until a low-risk activity is suddenly considerably higher.
Estimated HIV Transmission Risk Per Exposure
Arguably the most important factor in assessing the likelihood of HIV transmission is the infected person’s viral load. Data suggest that the risk of a person living with HIV with an undetectable viral load transmitting the virus is essentially zero.
The strategy called treatment as prevention (TasP) strongly supports the use ofantiretroviral therapyto reduce the infectivity of a person with HIV. It also reinforces the need for early testing to mitigate risk in mixed-status (serodiscordant) couples.
Knowing your serostatus (having or not having detectable antibodies) and that of your partner allows you to make an informed choice on how to better protect yourselves. This may include abstaining from high-risk activities, using condoms, or exploringpre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP)as a means to reduce the HIV-negative partner’s susceptibility to infection.
5 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.HIV transmission.Sousa JD, Müller V, Vandamme AM.The impact of genital ulcers on HIV transmission has been underestimated—a critical review.Viruses. 2022;14(3):538. doi:10.3390/v14030538Boily MC, Baggaley RF, Wang L, et al.Heterosexual risk of HIV-1 infection per sexual act: systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.Lancet Infect Dis. 2009;9(2):118–129. doi:10.1016/S1473-3099(09)70021-0Patel P, Borkowf CB, Brooks JT, Lasry A, Lansky A, Mermin J.Estimating per-act HIV transmission risk: a systematic review.AIDS. 2014;28(10):1509–1519. doi:10.1097/QAD.0000000000000298Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.HIV Treatment As Prevention.Additional ReadingDosekun O, Fox, J.An overview of the relative risks of different sexual behaviours on HIV transmission.Current Opinions in HIV and AIDS.2010;5(4):291-7. doi:10.1097/COH.0b013e32833a88a3
5 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.HIV transmission.Sousa JD, Müller V, Vandamme AM.The impact of genital ulcers on HIV transmission has been underestimated—a critical review.Viruses. 2022;14(3):538. doi:10.3390/v14030538Boily MC, Baggaley RF, Wang L, et al.Heterosexual risk of HIV-1 infection per sexual act: systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.Lancet Infect Dis. 2009;9(2):118–129. doi:10.1016/S1473-3099(09)70021-0Patel P, Borkowf CB, Brooks JT, Lasry A, Lansky A, Mermin J.Estimating per-act HIV transmission risk: a systematic review.AIDS. 2014;28(10):1509–1519. doi:10.1097/QAD.0000000000000298Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.HIV Treatment As Prevention.Additional ReadingDosekun O, Fox, J.An overview of the relative risks of different sexual behaviours on HIV transmission.Current Opinions in HIV and AIDS.2010;5(4):291-7. doi:10.1097/COH.0b013e32833a88a3
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.HIV transmission.Sousa JD, Müller V, Vandamme AM.The impact of genital ulcers on HIV transmission has been underestimated—a critical review.Viruses. 2022;14(3):538. doi:10.3390/v14030538Boily MC, Baggaley RF, Wang L, et al.Heterosexual risk of HIV-1 infection per sexual act: systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.Lancet Infect Dis. 2009;9(2):118–129. doi:10.1016/S1473-3099(09)70021-0Patel P, Borkowf CB, Brooks JT, Lasry A, Lansky A, Mermin J.Estimating per-act HIV transmission risk: a systematic review.AIDS. 2014;28(10):1509–1519. doi:10.1097/QAD.0000000000000298Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.HIV Treatment As Prevention.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.HIV transmission.
Sousa JD, Müller V, Vandamme AM.The impact of genital ulcers on HIV transmission has been underestimated—a critical review.Viruses. 2022;14(3):538. doi:10.3390/v14030538
Boily MC, Baggaley RF, Wang L, et al.Heterosexual risk of HIV-1 infection per sexual act: systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.Lancet Infect Dis. 2009;9(2):118–129. doi:10.1016/S1473-3099(09)70021-0
Patel P, Borkowf CB, Brooks JT, Lasry A, Lansky A, Mermin J.Estimating per-act HIV transmission risk: a systematic review.AIDS. 2014;28(10):1509–1519. doi:10.1097/QAD.0000000000000298
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.HIV Treatment As Prevention.
Dosekun O, Fox, J.An overview of the relative risks of different sexual behaviours on HIV transmission.Current Opinions in HIV and AIDS.2010;5(4):291-7. doi:10.1097/COH.0b013e32833a88a3
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