If your partner get HIV, dey take treatment every day and im viral load don undetectable, sex wit am no carry any risk of HIV. Dis na one of di most important tins wey dem don find for HIV prevention, and big studies, CDC and World Health Organization (WHO) dey support am.

Wetin “undetectable” mean

Viral load (how much HIV dey di blood) na di amount of HIV wey dey di blood. HIV medicine, wey dem dey call antiretroviral treatment (ART), dey stop di virus from multiplying itself, so di viral load go fall. Wen e don low reach where normal test no fit measure am, dem dey call am undetectable (di HIV for blood don low reach where test no fit see am). For U=U, di line na under 200 copies for each milliliter of blood.

Undetectable no mean say di virus don comot finish. E mean say treatment dey keep am under control. If person stop to take im medicine, di viral load fit rise again, and di chance to pass HIV go rise too.

Di evidence

Researchers follow couples wey one partner get HIV and di oda one no get, and dem check weda any new infection come from di partner wey dey take treatment. For di PARTNER study of gay couples, 782 couples report say dem do anal sex without condom 76,088 times wen di partner wey get HIV get viral load wey don suppress. No HIV pass from one partner to di oda inside dose couples. Di researchers conclude say di risk for dis kind situation be like zero.

Wen CDC review di evidence, dem use plenti couples studies like dis one, and WHO now tok say pipo wey dey take treatment and get undetectable viral load no go pass HIV give dia sexual partners.

How long e dey take, and how to stay dia

  • To reach dia. To reach undetectable level fit take up to six months of treatment. Until test confirm am, use condom or PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis: HIV medicine wey you dey take before any exposure to protect yourself), for di partner wey no get HIV.
  • To stay dia. Undetectable depend on to dey take treatment every time as e suppose be. CDC suggest viral load test every 4 to 6 months, so pipo wey get HIV go know say dem still dey undetectable.
  • To know your partner result. U=U depend on your partner real, recent viral load result, no be on guess. If you no sure, e dey okay to ask am.

To compare, receptive anal sex (anal sex wey you be di person wey dem enter) wit partner wey get HIV and no dey take treatment wey dey work carry estimated 1.4% (around 1 out of 72) chance of HIV for each act. Wit partner wey don undetectable, di risk through sex don comot.

Where U=U dey work, and where e no dey work

  • Sex. U=U cover anal, vaginal and oral sex (to use mouth for private part), wit condom or without condom.
  • Belle and birth. CDC tok say undetectable viral load still dey stop HIV from passing to pikin wen woman get belle, during labor and wen she dey born.
  • Breastfeeding. Treatment dey reduce di risk well well, but CDC tok say di risk wen you dey give pikin breast milk no be zero. Parents wey get HIV suppose plan how dem go feed di pikin wit dia health team.
  • Needle sharing. Dem neva confirm U=U for needle sharing. CDC tok say undetectable viral load fit reduce di risk, but nobody know by how much. Use new, clean equipment every time. See HIV risk from needle sharing.
  • Oda STIs. U=U na only about HIV. HIV treatment no dey stop chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis or oda STI (sexually transmitted infection, wey be infection wey dey pass through sex), so condom and regular STI test still matter. See HIV and STIs.

Wen you no know your partner status

If you no know weda partner get HIV, U=U alone no fit tell you much. Plenti pipo wey get HIV dey take treatment and dia virus don suppress. For di whole world, UNAIDS report say 93% of pipo wey dey take treatment don suppress di virus for 2023. But some pipo wey get HIV no know say dem get am, and odas neva start treatment. Di calculator dey consider dis one wen you no know your partner status.

Wetin to do now

If you do sex for di last 72 hours wit partner wey get HIV and no dey take treatment, or partner wey you no sure of im viral load, ask about PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis: HIV medicine wey you go take afta exposure to stop di virus) now. PEP must start inside 72 hours, and e beta if na inside 24. See how to get PEP.

  • Your partner don undetectable and get recent results. Sex wit am no dey put you for risk of HIV. You fit still wan do HIV and STI check regularly as part of your normal care.
  • You no sure about im viral load. Tok wit am, and wit health worker if fear dey catch you. If di exposure (wen HIV fit don enter your body) just happen, no wait for PEP.
  • You wan protection wey go continue wit partners wey you no know dia status. PrEP dey work well well. Read about PrEP and PEP.
  • You wan do test. Find free test for gettested.cdc.gov (for pipo for US), and check wen each test dey correct.