How to understand HIV risk

Two tins must happen

For exposure (wen HIV fit don enter your body) to pass HIV, di oda person must get HIV, and di virus must comot from di person enter your blood. Each of dis two na chance, and your total risk na roughly one multiply by di oda. Na why di same act fit get very different risk, depending on who you do am wit.

If you no know di person HIV status, di first chance dey usually small. For most countries, na only small share of adults get HIV; see HIV prevalence for each country. Even for di countries wey HIV common pass, most pipo no get HIV.

Dem dey count risk one act at a time

Di figures wey you go see, like about 1.4% for receptive anal sex (anal sex wey you be di person wey dem enter) wit partner wey get HIV and no dey take treatment, na averages for each act. CDC base dem on plenti studies. Dem mean say, on average, HIV dey pass for around 1 out of 72 of dis kind acts. Dis one no be countdown: e fit happen di first time, or e no go happen at all even afta many times.

Exposures wey dey repeat dey add up, but no be by simple multiplication. Ten of dis kind acts no get ten times di risk of one. Di total chance dey small pass dat one small, 13% (around 1 out of 8), becos each act na im own chance. Di calculator go do dis calculation for you.

Wetin dey make risk high

• Di type of exposure. Receptive anal sex get di highest risk for sex, becos di skin wey line di inside of nyash (rectum) thin and e dey easy to damage. To share injection equipment dey put blood straight enter di bloodstream.
• High viral load. Viral load na how much HIV dey di blood, and e be big factor. E dey reach im highest for di first weeks afta infection, often before di person know say e get HIV.
• Oda STIs (sexually transmitted infections, wey be infection wey dey pass through sex). Infections like syphilis, gonorrhea and herpes fit cause inflammation (swelling) or sores wey dey make am easy for HIV to enter. Dem dey roughly double di risk.
• Repetition. More exposures mean more chances.

Wetin dey make risk low, sometimes reach zero

• Treatment. Person wey get HIV wey dey take treatment and keep im viral load undetectable (di HIV for blood don low reach where test no fit see am) no dey pass HIV through sex. Na dis one be di basis of Undetectable = Untransmittable (U=U).
• PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis: HIV medicine wey you dey take before any exposure to protect yourself). If you take am as doctor tok, PrEP dey lower di risk to get HIV from sex by about 99% for anal sex and about 90% for vaginal sex.
• PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis: HIV medicine wey you go take afta exposure to stop di virus). If you start am within 72 hours afta exposure, PEP fit stop infection make e no settle for your body.
• Condoms. If you use dem well every time, condoms dey work very well. Di real-world estimate of about 80% protection don already count di times wey condom comot or burst.
• Circumcision. E dey lower man risk to get HIV through vaginal sex by about 50%.

Contact wey no get any risk

HIV no dey survive well outside di body, and e no dey spread through everyday contact. You no fit get HIV from:

• Kissing, hugging, or to shake hand
• Saliva (spit), sweat, or tears
• To share cup, spoon and fork, food, or toilet
• Mosquito or oda insects
• To touch skin wey no get cut, even if blood dey on top

Wetin to do wit your number

Use am to decide how fast you suppose act, no be to diagnose yourself. High estimate inside 72 hours mean say you suppose get PEP now. Low estimate suppose calm your mind, but test na still di only way to know for sure, and di calculator go show you wen negative result from each type of test go be final.