HIV4Dummies

This page is meant to help provide everyday men and women with valuable information about HIV in a way that they can understand. We will endeavor to dispel myths about HIV, provide links to studies and research that will back up our information with facts, and answer questions from visitors curious about the human immunodeficiency virus and its treatment.

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Body image, no photoshop in either picture, 30 seconds apart.

I could say something long-winded but I don’t think I need to. Sometimes we look good. Sometimes we don’t. And that’s okay.

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This is such an important message for those of us who suffer from body dysmorphia. What our brains interpret from the images of ourselves that our eyes perceive is often skewed and corrupted by a filter of self-loathing that can convince us we are anything but attractive despite all evidence to the contrary. Remember that even the most beautiful people by conventional standards of beauty are subjectively imperfect at any given time. Beauty is not only in the eye of the beholder. It is sometimes cloaked in the beholder's mind.

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In a step forward in the search for an HIV vaccine, Professor Denis Burton and colleagues from the Scripps Institute in La Jolla, California have manufactured an HIV vaccine that, with just one shot, induced six out of 12 monkeys to make antibodies that significantly delayed infection or (in two cases) even prevented it. The findings are published in the 15 January issue of Immunity.

“Uhambo” and “ Imbokodo” are two very important key words to follow as we start of 2019. They represent the most promising news yet in the ongoing search for a vaccine to prevent the transmission of HIV. Keep your eyes on this study, as it could lead to a world without any new cases of infection.

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HIV Occurrence In Men Who Have Transactional Sex With Men

It may come as a surprise, given the general stigma surrounding the topic, but a recent study of male sex workers in Nigeria who have sex with men shows that, while on average the presentment of other sexually transmitted infections runs a bit higher than in non-sex worker MSM, the occurrence of HIV in the sex worker population trends significantly lower than among those MSM who are not engaged in transactional sex. 

To read the entire study, visit: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jstd/2017/1810346/

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CD4 Lab Results The Relationship Between T-Cells & the HIV Virus Explained

Making Sense of CD4 Cell vs HIV Viral Load Measurements 

Here is a practical lesson on CD4/T-Cells and HIV Viral Load using my own actual lab results for illustration. Hopefully it will shine some light on the way the virus works against our immune system, and why antiretroviral medicines are necessary to stop the virus from replicating. 

If you have questions, feel free to reach out either in the comments or via DM.

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HIV passes into semen as it makes its way through the host body. The higher the viral load, the more copies of the virus there are in an ejaculation, increasing the risk of infection of an HIV negative sex partner or partners should enough of the virus find a way past their bodies’ first line of defenses. 

Small tears or abrasions in the delicate skin around the genitals, inside the vagina, or in the mucosa lining of the anus happen as a natural result of penetrative sex. Passing a high enough content of HIV into a compromised area of a partner’s body could introduce enough viral copies to get a foothold inside the bloodstream where it could either be successfully fought off by the new host’s immune system, or potentially survive and cause the person to seroconvert, which is to say they become infected with HIV and will soon produce enough antibodies to show up on an HIV test.

This is why barrier protection, such as dental dams and condoms have long been used as a common form of protection against HIV. When used properly, these latex barriers prevent the exchange of potentially infected body fluids, making the chances of transmitting HIV much lower. More recently, science has focused on preventing the virus from replicating, thereby diminishing the viral load in HIV+ patients so that they are undetectable, meaning there is not enough of the virus in their body to cause a new infection in an HIV negative partner or partners. This method of protection is called Treatment as Prevention (TasP) for HIV+ people, or Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV- people. 

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As enough copies of HIV build up in the body, they begin to overtake healthy CD4 white blood cells and using them for spare parts to replicate more copies of themselves. The process kills the CD4 lymphocyte, leaving the body more and more unaware of impending infections and making us susceptible to all kinds of pathogens that might otherwise be quickly identified and destroyed.

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Serosorting Does More Harm Than Good For Gay Men

Serosorting is listed by the CDC as a viable tool for protecting oneself against HIV infection. While the CDC touches on the inherent risk involved in knowing with 100% accuracy the status of oneself and one's sex partner(s), this point cannot be stressed enough. In order for there to be zero chance of HIV transmission to an uninfected partner, there must be 100% honesty between sex partners about their HIV status, the last time they were tested, and every sexual encounter they may have had since that last test was taken. If there is ANY chance that one partner might have been exposed to HIV by any means since their last negative HIV screening, then serosorting alone is NOT assured to prevent transmission. Putting aside the unreliability of serosorting as a prevention method, it has a much wider impact on the gay community at large. Serosorting has been referred to as serodiscrimination or serosegregation by many people living with HIV. It has been observed to promote fear and stigma among the HIV negative members of the community who believe that simply avoiding sexual contact with openly HIV positive partners will protect them from becoming infected. And while that may be partially true, it does not take into consideration the fact that many people who report their status as HIV negative either do not know their recent HIV status, have not been tested recently or at all, or are simply lying about their status in order to appear more attractive to those afraid of having sex with HIV positive partners. It is through these types of encounters found across dating sites and hookup apps like Grindr, Adam4Adam, Scruff, Growlr, GuySpy, BarebackRT, Tindr, Hornet, etc. that HIV stigma can lead to greater numbers of new infections among gay and bisexual men because it promotes fear of rejection, fear of infection, and destroys most attempts at having open, honest disclosures about status. Men who are living with HIV and taking antiretroviral therapy to maintain an undetectable viral load are as safe to have sex with as one can find. Instead of shaming them back into the closet by promoting serosorting, thank them for their honesty and consider the fact that they are protecting themselves and others by adhering to their therapy. Putting the bias and discriminatory elements involved with serosorting aside, the practice carries with it heightened risk of other sexually transmitted infections due to a false sense of security from HIV. Men who have sex with men are reporting an increased rate of infection with gonorrhea, syphilis, and chlamydia after having unprotected sex, most often while serosorting. Bacterial superinfections are becoming more and more prevalent within certain networks of sexual partnering, especially those where recreational drug use is a factor. Talk to your partner about STIs and make informed decisions, not based on fear or shame, but on facts and available options for prevention. See also: http://sti.bmj.com/content/93/1/71 http://sti.bmj.com/content/89/Suppl_1/A188.4 http://edoc.rki.de/oa/articles/regx7ntJuQKME/PDF/28zHkrmw5XlkU.pdf https://wwwn.cdc.gov/hivrisk/decreased_risk/communication/same_status.html

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UNAIDS 2018 | REFERENCE

This reference document provides a detailed analysis of transactional sex and discusses policy options and principles of engagement around transactional sex in the context of HIV prevention. Although transactional sex is practiced by men and women in all regions of the world, this document focuses specifically on the determinants and consequences of adolescent girls’ and young women’s engagement in transactional sex in sub-Saharan Africa. We focus on this population because of the potential importance of transactional sex for young women’s HIV risk in this region. The document will not address men who have sex with men or gay men and transgender people and the engagement around transactional sex.

Download PDF

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#UequalsU

We’re kicking off this site with a premiere post from PositiveSeries.org with the important message that Undetectable=Untransmittable. You will see a lot about U=U Campaign here, but you should also be hearing about it from your physician or other health care provider when you get tested or when you visit for your regular lab work. If you are not, you should refer him or her to the CDC’s website where they unequivocally state the following: 

“People who take ART daily as prescribed and achieve and maintain an undetectable viral load have effectively no risk of sexually transmitting the virus to an HIV-negative partner." 

- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)  (September, 2017)