How Long Does It Take To Contract Hiv After Exposure

When Should I Start Pep And How Long Do I Need To Take It

PEP must be started within 72 hours after a possible exposure to HIV. The sooner you start it, the better every hour counts.

You need to take the PEP medicines every day for 28 days. You will have to see your health care provider at certain times during and after taking the PEP, so you can have an HIV screening test and other testing.

Is It Safe For Children With Hiv To Receive Routine Immunizations

• MMR, or measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine, is safe to give to children with HIV, unless they have a severely weakened immune system.

• DTaP/Td vaccine is safe to give to infants and children with HIV.

• Hib and Hep B vaccines are safe to give to children with HIV.

• Hepatitis A and B vaccines are safe to give to HIV-positive children.

• VZIG should be considered for known HIV-positive children, depending on their immune status.

• A yearly influenza vaccine is recommended for children with HIV, as well as any individual living in the same household as a child with HIV. There are two types of influenza vaccine children and adults with HIV should receive the “shot” form of the vaccine–not the nasal spray form, as it contains a live virus. Pneumococcal vaccine can be safely administered to age-appropriate HIV-infected children.

Always consult with your child’s doctor regarding immunizations for an HIV-infected child.

Is Hiv And Aids An Occupational Concern

Where ever there is the possibility of contact with blood in the workplace, workers should take precautions to prevent contact with the skin, eyes or mucous membranes .

Routine Practices are recommended to prevent the spread of HIV in the workplace. Routine practices are based on the principle that all blood, body fluids, secretions, and excretions except sweat, non-intact skin, and mucous membranes, unless they contain visible blood, may contain transmissible infectious agents. Steps involve using protective clothing such as gloves, gowns or aprons, masks and protective eye wear when dealing with people’s blood and other blood-contaminated body fluids such as semen and vaginal secretions. They also do not apply to saliva except in dentistry where saliva is likely to be contaminated with blood.

Hand washing after contact with blood, blood-contaminated body fluids and soiled items is also recommended to reduce the risk of infection.

The best approach to most diseases is to prevent their occurrence – occupationally-related diseases are no exception. In the case of HIV, prevention is the only cure.

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Testing For Hepatitis C

To diagnose a hepatitis C infection, doctors use a hepatitis C antibody test, which is a blood test. The test must have the approval of the Food and Drug Administration .

The hepatitis C antibody can show if a persons body has made any antibodies to HCV. If they have, this indicates that they have had the infection at some point in their lives.

Some people have the infection at some time, but their immune system eliminates the virus after a few months. In others, the body is unable to fight off the virus, leading to chronic hepatitis C infection. Many people will not experience any symptoms until the disease has progressed significantly.

A non-reactive or negative test result will generally indicate that a person does not have HCV. However, if the person has the test during the window period, they could receive inaccurate results.

If the person knows when exposure occurred, a doctor may recommend waiting a few weeks before repeating the test.

A reactive or positive result tells a doctor that the person has had an HCV infection at some point in their lives. The result indicates that their body has created antibodies to fight the virus.

However, this does not mean that a person still has active HCV. Even if their immune system has eliminated the virus, they will still have the antibodies.

Letting Partners Know You Have Hiv

If you have just been diagnosed with HIV, it will likely be a difficult time. You might still be struggling to come to terms with diagnosis.

During this time, it is important to let any sexual or injecting partners know they may have been exposed to HIV as soon as you can, so they can be tested and offered PEP if appropriate.

You do not have to do this alone. Your doctor or the Department of Health and Human Services Partner Notification Officers can help you through this process and ensure your identity is not revealed.. Both groups can provide information, support, and guidance for people living with HIV.

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Things To Know About Hiv Suppression

A vial of blood

A vial of blood

Development of antiretroviral drugs to treat HIV has turned what was once an almost always fatal infection into a manageable chronic condition. Daily antiretroviral therapy can reduce the amount of HIV in the blood to levels that are undetectable with standard tests. Staying on treatment is crucial to keep the virus suppressed. NIAID-supported research has demonstrated that achieving and maintaining a durably undetectable viral load not only preserves the health of the person living with HIV, but also prevents sexual transmission of the virus to an HIV-negative partner.

People Unaware Of Having Hiv

Its estimated that about 1 in 7 people living with HIV in the United States dont know they have the virus.

People who are unaware that they have HIV are less likely to take precautions to avoid transmission to other people. They also likely dont take medications to suppress the virus.

If you dont currently have HIV, you can prevent your chances of infection by:

• discussing HIV and STIs with your partner before engaging in sexual activity
• using a barrier method every time you engage in sexual activity
• avoiding sharing needles
• talking with your doctor about postexposure prophylaxis if you may have been exposed to HIV in the past 72 hours
• getting tested for other STIs regularly or before engaging in sexual activity with a new partner

If you do have HIV, you can prevent transmitting it to others by:

• discussing HIV and STIs with your partner before engaging in sexual activity
• using a barrier method every time you engage in sexual activity
• taking your medications as prescribed
• avoiding sharing needles or drug injection equipment
• having your viral load tested regularly as recommended by your doctor

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What Is Viral Suppression

Antiretroviral therapy keeps HIV from making copies of itself. When a person living with HIV begins an antiretroviral treatment regimen, their viral load drops. For almost everyone who starts taking their HIV medication daily as prescribed, viral load will drop to an undetectable level in six months or less. Continuing to take HIV medications as directed is imperative to stay undetectable.

How Often Do You Need To Get Tested For Hiv

How often you should get tested depends on your personal practices, risk behaviours, and how often you engage in them.

For most people, it is important to have a full sexual health test at least once each year. This testing includes:

• HIV

Even if you always use condoms, it is recommended you get tested annually as condoms dont provide 100% protection against HIV and STIs.

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What To Do After A Needlestick Injury

If you pierce or puncture your skin with a used needle, follow this first aid advice immediately:

• encourage the wound to bleed, ideally by holding it under running water
• wash the wound using running water and plenty of soap
• do not scrub the wound while you’re washing it
• do not suck the wound
• dry the wound and cover it with a waterproof plaster or dressing.

You should also seek urgent medical advice to assess your need for PEP or other treatment to reduce the risk of getting an infection.

Where To Get Tested For Hiv

Getting an HIV test is easy. Tests for HIV and other STIs are confidential and available from your local doctor , or a sexual and reproductive health clinic.

It is a good idea to have some pre-test counselling. Before the test, talk with your doctor, nurse, or peer tester about any concerns, your level of risk, whether you are likely to be HIV-positive and what a positive result may mean.

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Are These Figures Always Accurate

In some situations, these figures should be interpreted with caution:

• When tests are done with samples of fingerprick blood or oral fluid , their window periods are likely to be longer.
• Individuals who are taking pre-exposure prophylaxis or post-exposure prophylaxis may have a delayed antibody response, extending the window period.
• The data are based on individuals with HIV-1 subtype B and its possible that tests are less sensitive to other subtypes.

British HIV Association, British Association for Sexual Health and HIV and British Infection Association. Adult HIV Testing Guidelines 2020.

Delaney KP et al. Time from HIV infection to earliest detection for 4 FDA-approved point-of-care tests. Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, abstract 565, 2018.

Who Should Have A Test For Hepatitis C

In the United States, the recommend that most adults over 18 years, and pregnant women undergo screening at least once.

A doctor may also recommend testing at least once for people who:

• have HIV
• have ever injected drugs or shared needles or other equipment, even if it was only once, a long time ago
• have had certain medical conditions or undergone transplants and other treatments in the past
• have had a needlestick or other injury while working in healthcare or public safety setting
• were born to a mother who had HCV

A healthcare professional may advise a person to have regular screening if they:

• currently inject drugs, and share needles and other equipment
• have specific medical conditions

People who have been in prison or have tattoos and piercings may require HCV testing, depending on the circumstances.

If a person thinks they have had exposure to someone who has HCV, they should speak to their doctor about screening.

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Which Test Can Give Me Results The Soonest

The period of time also differs, depending on which kind of test you take. The different types of tests include:

• Antibody tests, which look for the antibodies — special proteins that help fight infection — that your body makes in reaction to an HIV infection. Most rapid tests and at-home tests are these kind. Antibody tests require the longest wait time after infection to get an accurate result. For most people — around 97% — this takes anywhere from 2 to 12 weeks. For some, it can take as long as 6 months.
• Combination or fourth-generation tests, which look for both antibodies and antigens. Antigens are part of the virus itself. One antigen, p24, is detectable before your body starts making antibodies. These tests are becoming more common in the U.S. They can tell you if you have HIV a little sooner than an antibody test can.
• Nucleic acid tests , which can detect HIV in your body the soonest after infection. The test looks for the virus in your blood. You need a certain amount of the virus in your blood before the test will detect it. This is called your viral load. You can get a negative test if your viral load is still low. A NAT can tell you if you have HIV as early as 7 to 28 days after infection. It gives the quickest result, but itâs also the most expensive. Doctors donât typically use it unless youâre at a high risk of exposure to HIV.

Youâre more likely to have a NAT if you:

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Stage : Acute Primary Infection

The early symptoms of HIV can feel like having the flu. Around one to four weeks after getting HIV, you may start to experience these flu-like symptoms. These normally dont last long . You may only get some of the symptoms and some people dont have any symptoms at all.

Symptoms can include:

• joint aches and pains
• muscle pain.

These symptoms happen because your body is reacting to the HIV virus. Cells that are infected with HIV are circulating throughout your blood system. In response, your immune system tries to attack the virus by producing HIV antibodies this process is called seroconversion. Timing varies but once you have HIV it can take your body up to a few months to go through the seroconversion process.

Having these symptoms alone does not mean you definitely have HIV. The only way to know if you have HIV is by taking a test. You should always visit your healthcare professional if youre worried about or think youve been at risk of getting HIV, even if you feel well and dont have any symptoms. They can then arrange for you to get tested.

HIV will not always show up in a test at this early stage, and you may need to test again later to confirm your result . Your healthcare professional will talk to you about the timing of your test and answer any concerns. Its important not delay speaking to a healthcare worker if you are worried about HIV.

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Where To Get Pep

PEP is available on the NHS for free, but is only given to people who meet guidelines about its use.

The best place to get PEP is a sexual health or HIV clinic. If you need PEP over the weekend or outside of office hours, when clinics will often be closed, the best place to go is an Accident and Emergency department.

PEP is not normally available from GPs.

As PEP is a powerful course of drugs, and is expensive to prescribe, you might be asked about:

• the person you had sex with
• what sort of sex you had
• if the other person had HIV, what their viral load is.

If the person you had sex with is living with HIV and has an undetectable viral load, you will not need PEP as it wont be possible for the virus to have been transmitted.

Once a doctor decides that its appropriate for you to have PEP, you will be asked to take an HIV test. This is to make sure you dont already have HIV. If HIV is detected by a test, other forms of treatment will be recommended to you.

Latency Causes A Break In Symptoms

After initial exposure and possible primary infection, HIV may transition into a stage called clinically latent infection. Its also referred to as asymptomatic HIV infection due to a noticeable lack of symptoms. This lack of symptoms includes possible chronic symptoms.

According to HIV.gov, latency in HIV infection can last for 10 or 15 years. This doesnt mean that HIV is gone, nor does it mean that the virus cant be transmitted to others. Clinically latent infection may progress to the third and final stage of HIV, also referred to as AIDS.

The risk for progression is higher if a person with HIV isnt receiving treatment, such as antiretroviral therapy. Its important to take prescribed medications during all stages of HIV even if there arent any noticeable symptoms. There are several medications used for HIV treatment.

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Can You Get Help Paying For Pep

• If youre prescribed PEP after a sexual assaultYou may qualify for partial or total reimbursement for medicines and clinical care costs through the Office for Victims of Crime, funded by the U.S. Department of Justice .
• If youre prescribed PEP for another reason and you cannot get insurance coverage Your health care provider can apply for free PEP medicines through the medication assistance programs run by the manufacturers. These requests can be handled urgently in many cases to avoid a delay in getting medicine.
• If youre a health care worker who was exposed to HIV on the jobYour workplace health insurance or workers compensation will usually pay for PEP.

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How Long Are The Window Periods Of Different Hiv Tests

It is hard to say exactly how long the window period lasts, as there are variations between individuals and it is a difficult topic to research .

Nonetheless, a study by Dr Kevin Delaney and colleagues calculated window periods for a range of HIV testing assays. All these analyses were based on plasma samples. Window periods are likely to be several days longer when testing samples of fingerprick blood or of oral fluid, as will be normal when using rapid, point-of-care tests and self-testing devices. Unfortunately, precise figures for how much longer the window periods are have not yet been published.

The researchers analysis confirms that fourth-generation laboratory tests detect HIV infections between one and three weeks earlier than older antibody-only tests. Moreover, their data suggest that some countries guidelines which recommend retesting 90 days after a possible exposure to HIV are more cautious than they need to be.

Afourth-generation laboratory testis recommended in UK and US guidelines. It uses a sample of blood plasma or serum and can detect immunoglobulin G antibodies, immunoglobulin M antibodies and p24 viral antigen . Commonly used tests of this type include Abbott Architect HIV Ag/Ab, GS Combo Ag/Ab EIA and Siemens Combo HIV Ag-Ab.

• The median window period is 18 days . This indicates that half of all infections would be detected between 13 and 24 days after exposure.

• 99% of HIV-infected individuals would be detectable within 44 days of exposure.

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After I Begin Hiv Treatment How Long Does It Take For The Risk Of Sexually Transmitting Hiv To Become Effectively Zero

There is effectively no risk of sexual transmission of HIV when the partner living with HIV has achieved an undetectable viral load and then maintained it for at least six months. Most people living with HIV who start taking antiretroviral therapy daily as prescribed achieve an undetectable viral load within one to six months after beginning treatment.

A persons viral load is considered durably undetectable when all viral load test results are undetectable for at least six months after their first undetectable test result. This means that most people will need to be on treatment for 7 to 12 months to have a durably undetectable viral load. It is essential to take every pill every day to maintain durably undetectable status.