Let’s talk HIV is about getting tested for HIV, protecting yourself from HIV through PrEP, and understanding what it’s like living with HIV in 2024. The emphasis is on U=U. Undetectable = Untransmittable. If you are taking HIV medication, and your viral load is undetectable, you cannot pass on the virus through sex1. Scroll down to view short videos, along with answers to some commonly asked questions, for each topic.
Let’s talk HIV was funded through an unrestricted educational grant from Gilead. The sponsor had no influence on the selection of the topics, or on the creation of any videos or content.
How to get tested
PrEP
Living with HIV
Disclaimer: The individuals depicted in this video are actors. Their portrayal of living with HIV is for educational and awareness purposes only.
Disclaimer: The individuals depicted in this video are actors. Their portrayal of living with HIV is for educational and awareness purposes only.
How can
you get
HIV?
By having anal or vaginal/frontal sex with someone who has HIV without using protection (for example condoms or medicines to prevent HIV)
By sharing needles, syringes or other injecting equipment with someone who has HIV
Via mother-to-child transmission during pregnancy, birth, or breastfeeding
Through contact with contaminated blood
This is now very rare, because blood from donors is thoroughly checked to make sure it is not infected with HIV
This is possible if the equipment or ink has someone else’s blood in it. This is more common if the person doing the tattooing or piercing is unlicensed
HIV can NOT be passed on by
Touching saliva, tears, urine or sweat
HIV can NOT be passed on by
Hugging or shaking hands with a person who has HIV
HIV can NOT be passed on by
Sharing toilets or dishes/drinks with a person who has HIV
HIV can NOT be passed on by
Standing close to someone who has HIV
HIV can NOT be passed on by
Kissing someone who has HIV
Unless two people with sores or bleeding gums engage in deep, open mouth kissing (although this is very rare)
HIV can NOT be passed on by
Through bites from mosquitoes, ticks or other insects
Anyone who might have been in a situation that puts them at risk of getting HIV should consider getting tested.
- If you have had sex without a condom with someone you do not know
- If you have had sex with someone who has HIV
- If you have been diagnosed with another sexually transmitted infection (STI)
- If you have injected drugs with a needle or syringe that someone else has already used
The World Health Organization (WHO) also recommends that some people who are at particularly high risk of being exposed to HIV should be tested once per year.
- All people who have sex in areas where a lot of people have HIV
- Men who have sex with men
- People in prison or closed settings
- People who inject drugs
- Sex workers
- Transgender people
- People in a relationship with a partner who has HIV
In some cases, individuals should consider testing more often (every 3–6 months).
For Example:
- People who take pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) against HIV
- People at particularly high risk of being exposed to HIV and who also have another sexually transmitted infection (STI)
Finally, it is a good idea for some people to be tested for HIV based on their medical status.
- All pregnant women
- Anyone with signs and symptoms that may indicate HIV. This can include:
• Weight loss
• Night sweats
• Thrush in the mouth
• An increase in herpes or coldsore outbreaks
• Long-lasting diarrhoea - Anyone with other conditions that are common alongside HIV, including tuberculosis and other STIs
The only way to find out if you have HIV is to have an HIV test, as symptoms may not appear for several years.
Testing is important so that people with HIV can begin treatment immediately. People with HIV who take treatment, called antiretroviral therapy (ART), can live completely normal, healthy lives. Getting tested and starting treatment early also means that they will not pass HIV on to other people through sex once their viral load is undetectable
(more information in the U=U section).
You can ask your local healthcare provider for an HIV test.
You can often get tested at medical clinics, sexual health clinics, substance abuse programmes, community health centres, family planning clinics, pharmacies and hospitals.
In many countries, you can get an HIV test through the post so you can take the test at home.
If you get tested for HIV in a healthcare setting, a healthcare provider will take a small amount of blood or saliva from you.
Your results will be available in a few minutes to a few days depending on the type of test used. If you order a home testing kit (also called self-testing), all equipment you need to test for HIV is posted to your home. Depending on the kit, you either use a small lancet (a pin) to release a few drops of blood from your finger or swab an absorbent pad around the inside of your mouth to collect some saliva.
- Post your blood or saliva sample to a lab. Your results should be available in a few days.
- Test your blood or saliva sample at home and interpret your own test results. Your results will be available in a few minutes.
Disclaimer: The individuals depicted in this video are actors. Their portrayal of living with HIV is for educational and awareness purposes only.
PrEP is an oral* medication that you can take to prevent getting infected with HIV.
It is very effective if taken correctly, reducing the risk of getting HIV from sex by about 99%1. It can also reduce the risk of getting HIV from injecting drugs by at least 74%.
*In some countries/settings injectable PrEP is available.
PRE-
EXPOSURE
PROPHYLAXIS
(PrEP)
sexually transmitted infections (STIs) ?
No, PrEP will only protect you against HIV.
Other measures must be taken to reduce your risk of contracting other STIs, including gonorrhoea, chlamydia and syphilis. For example, condoms will protect you from getting infected with STIs.
PRE-
EXPOSURE
PROPHYLAXIS
(PrEP)
1. CDC. PrEP Effectiveness. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/risk/prep/index.html. Accessed April 2024
Who should take PrEP?
PrEP is suitable for people who do not have HIV but are at high risk of getting infected with HIV
- People who have frequent sex with multiple partners without the consistent use of condoms
- People who have a sexual partner with HIV (especially if the partner is not on HIV treatment, started HIV treatment less than 6 months ago, or does not take their treatment consistently)
- People recently diagnosed with an STI
- Men and transgender people who have sex with men
- Sex workers
- Sexually active people who live in areas where HIV is common
- People who share needles, syringes or other equipment when injecting drugs
How can I start PrEP?
PrEP is not available in all countries.
In places where it is available, PrEP can only be prescribed by a healthcare provider. As it cannot be taken by people who are already infected with HIV, you will be tested for HIV before beginning PrEP.
PrEPWatch is a regularly updated website that provides information on whether PrEP is available in each country.
PrEP is an oral* tablet that can be taken in two different ways1,2:
*In some countries/settings injectable PrEP is available.
1. Daily PrEP: for people who are continuously at risk of HIV
- - One pill is taken everyday
2. On-demand PrEP: for people without ongoing risk of HIV
- - PrEP is taken just before and just after you think you will be at risk of getting HIV (for example, prior to and after a planned sexual encounter)
- - Two pills are taken 2-24 hours before sex, one pill 24 hours after the first dose, and another pill 24 hours after that
2. Terrance Higgins Trust. PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis). Available at:https://www.tht.org.uk/hiv-and-sexual-health/prep-pre-exposure-prophylaxis. Accessed April 2024.
PrEP is very well tolerated, and serious side effects are very rare1,2.
1. CDC. PrEP Effectiveness. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/risk/prep/index.html. Accessed April 2024.
2. Terrance Higgins Trust. PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis). Available at: https://www.tht.org.uk/hiv-and-sexual-health/prep-pre-exposure-prophylaxis. Accessed April 2024.
Disclaimer: The individuals depicted in this video are actors. Their portrayal of living with HIV is for educational and awareness purposes only.
LIVING
WITH
HIV
What is HIV?
HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus.
It is a virus that attacks the body’s immune system, which is your body’s defence mechanism that usually protects you from germs and illnesses. Because HIV attacks the immune system, it weakens the body’s ability to fight everyday infections.
Everyone diagnosed with HIV should be treated as soon as possible with ART, to reduce viral load until it is undetectable.
LIVING
WITH
HIV
What does U=U mean?
U=U stands for Undetectable = Untransmittable.
It is a short phrase that means if a person living with HIV has so little HIV virus in their blood that it cannot be detected with tests (called an undetectable viral load) then, they cannot transmit HIV through sex, even without the use of a condom. An undetectable viral load can be achieved if HIV medication is consistently taken as prescribed.
How do we know that U=U?
In the PARTNER study,1 published in 2016, 888 HIV-serodifferent couples (one partner has HIV, the other does not) were studied.
Both heterosexual and gay male couples were involved, who reported approximately 58,000 sex acts without the use of a condom. The results showed that if the partner with HIV had an undetectable viral load, there was a 0% chance of passing HIV to their partners.
among 782 HIV-serodifferent gay male couples, if the partner with HIV had an undetectable viral load.
These studies provide very strong evidence that people living with HIV with undetectable viral loads cannot pass on the virus through sex.
1. Rodger AJ, et al. Sexual Activity Without Condoms and Risk of HIV Transmission in Serodifferent Couples When the HIV-Positive Partner Is Using Suppressive Antiretroviral Therapy. JAMA 2016;316:171-81.
2. Rodger AJ, et al. Risk of HIV transmission through condomless sex in serodifferent gay couples with the HIV-positive partner taking suppressive antiretroviral therapy (PARTNER): final results of a multicentre, prospective, observational study. Lancet 2019; 393: 2428–38.
LIVING
WITH
HIV
How can I achieve an undetectable viral load?
People living with HIV can achieve an undetectable viral load if they take their HIV medication consistently as prescribed.
It usually takes a few months after starting treatment for your viral load to become undetectable. HIV medication is called antiretroviral therapy (ART), and it usually comes in the form of one or more daily pill(s). It should be started as soon as possible after a person receives a positive test result.
There is currently no cure for HIV, and people living with HIV must take ART for the rest of their lives. ART is very effective if taken correctly and people living with HIV can expect to live normal, long, healthy lives.
LIVING
WITH
HIV
What is AIDS?
If a person living with HIV does not get treated, they can develop AIDS,
which stands for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. The immune systems of patients with AIDS are so severely damaged that they get an increasing number of severe, life-threatening illnesses.
LIVING
WITH
HIV
Will I get AIDS if I am diagnosed
with HIV?
Thanks to the availability of effective treatment, people living with HIV on treatment will not develop AIDS.
In fact, people living with HIV can live completely normal, healthy lives if they take their treatment as prescribed.
ART can cause side effects in some people.
Common side effects include nausea, diarrhoea, insomnia, headache, dizziness, and fatigue. Serious side effects are rare, and most side effects go away with time. In many countries you can switch to a different ART regimen if you are experiencing bad side effects. bad side effects.
How can I make sure I don’t pass on HIV to others?
There are several ways to prevent passing on HIV to others.
The best thing to do is to start taking HIV medication as soon as possible, and to take your medication as prescribed, so your viral load becomes undetectable. As explained above, people living with HIV with undetectable viral loads cannot transmit HIV through sex (U=U).
- Use condoms during sex, which are highly effective in preventing the transmission of HIV and other STIs
- If your partner does not have HIV, they can take PrEP (see more information above)
- If your partner does not have HIV and you have already had sex without a condom, they can take post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP). This is a pill that can be taken by an HIV-negative individual within 72 hours of potential exposure to HIV. This should be a last-resort measure and not a regular way to stay protected
If you are diagnosed with HIV, telling sexual partners or people you have shared injection equipment with about your HIV status can be very uncomfortable as you may have exposed them to HIV without knowing.
However, it is important to tell your current and former partners if you've been diagnosed with HIV or any STI, so they themselves can get tested and begin treatment if needed. This will also stop them spreading HIV to any other people.
Sharing your HIV status to certain family and friends can be a complicated and emotional decision. Remember that telling your family and friends is entirely up to you. Telling people you trust can have emotional and practical benefits, as they can help you deal with your diagnosis and support you in your life with HIV. If you do decide to do so, there are resources available online that can support you.
Country-specific information on
HIV testing
Country-specific information on
PREP(including where/how to get PrEP)
Let’s talk HIV was funded through an unrestricted educational grant from Gilead. The sponsor had no influence on the selection of
the topics, or on the creation of any videos or content.
Privacy and cookies
Disclaimer: The individuals depicted in the videos on this website are actors. Their portrayal of living with HIV is for educational and awareness purposes only.
Date of preparation April 2024