Hiv Type E

[welshaz]

Hi guys,

brief backgtround:

i am a 23 year old brittish male with a limited sexual history. however whilst on a vacation in Thailand very stupidly slept with a CSW and the condom broke without me knowing! (should have taken my own).. she seemed equally as concerned as me however this has worried me sick and i cant get tested until december.. Now hearing new information on the type E nirus i am even more worried!!!

I have spoken with a few western doctors on this matter and they are rather unsure. Statistics in the US say that for a hetrosexual male to catch hiv from a single exposure of unprotected vaginal sex with a hiv+ female is 1in2000, 1in1000 if you are uncircumsized.

However according to a few sites HIV type E which is most prevalent amongst hetrosexuals in Thailand is a lot more easily transmitted during hetrosexual sex and liklihhod of catching can be as high as 1in30!!!!!! the doctors i have spoken to say although they are not sure they believe it to be more easily transmitted although not to that extent.

i though i would try this site to see if there were anybody out there with knowledge on this? i am really really worried sick...

thanks

[stevymac]

wots a csw?

[Jingthing]

I suppose that is commercial sex worker. I don't know how this will help to knowyour exact risk. You should simply get tested in six months and try to relax. You probably were not infected by one exposure. You also didn't mention that you had symptoms of the early infection (fever) shortly after the suspected event. Assuming you didn't, even less chance you were infected. Of course men can potentially get infected by unprotected vaginal sex, don't let anyone tell you differently (there are people here who actually believe it is only a gay/IV drug disease).

A side note, if you had a high risk accident in the west (like a broken condom with a know HIV infected person or a needle prick from same) you should immediately seek HIV prevention medication therapy, and I do mean immediately. This can prevent infection. As far as I know, this really isn't available in Thailand.

Edited September 14, 2009 by Jingthing

[joskydive]

wots a csw?

Just a guess!!!

Client Sex Worker?????

[craigt3365]

Man, I can relate. Had the same happen to me a few times! No fun. One was in Brazil...I went to get checked the next week, and then had to wait 6 months for the next check. No good when the doc told me the two worst places in the world for this to happen are Brazil and Thailand! Anyway, I ended up OK. Just be careful...I am sure it will work out in the end. The odds are on your side....Nothing you can do now anyway. Best of luck mate.

[britmaveric]

^Dr doesnt know his stuff I guess - forgot Africa/Haiti is 1000x worse than Brazil or Thailand. Thailand is prob on par with most western countries if truth be told.

[onnut]

^Dr doesnt know his stuff I guess - forgot Africa/Haiti is 1000x worse than Brazil or Thailand. Thailand is prob on par with most western countries if truth be told.

yeah but who goes to Africa for a sex holiday?

ok, on a serious note to the OP, this happened to me 6-7 years ago and I was told to wait 3 months for the all clear, why is it 6 months now?

by the way, I was clear and had been a really naughty boy before then so I think the ods are on your side.

[britmaveric]

yeah but who goes to Africa for a sex holiday?

^European women.

Edited September 14, 2009 by britmaveric

[Sheryl]

A CSW is a "commercial sex worker"

AFAIK there is no hard data on the average risk of transmission for subtype E (which is actually called Subtype CRF A/E). Even the data for the types common in the west are limited; it is not possible, for obvious ethical reasons, to conduct studies to measure the percentage of people who become infected from unprotected sex with an infected person. The estimates comonly referred to come from longitudinal stidies of married couples in which one partner was positive and the other not; as these people were under medical treatment their viral loads and hence infectivity would have been lower than might otherwise be the case.

Subtype CRF A/E does seem to have spread more effectively and rapidly among heterosexual men than has been the case with other serotypes, but it is not clear whether this is because of some characteristic of the virus itself or whether it reflects factors specific to the host population e.g. uncircumsized men having frequuent unprotetced sex with large number of different CSWs.

In any event an average is just that, an average and does not really tell you the risk in any one specific case, which can be substantiall lower or higher than the average. A key factor is the viral load of the infecetd perosn; other factors are whether or not the man is circumcised, whether either partner has any sores or abrasions or small breaks in the skin or mucosa of the genitals, and whether either is infected with another STD.

The conventional time for testing is 3 months and repeat at 6 if negative; this is because about 99% of infecetd people will have formed antibodies by 3 months. More than half will have done so by 6 weeks, so one could also get the test earlier and repeat at 3 and 6 months if it helps with peace of mind; the antbody tests are very inexpensive.

OP, that the woman was concerned b the condom breakage suggests she is careful about using them which, of course, greatly decreases the likelihood that she was HIV positive.

[wasabi]

I have heard of subtype E and yes it is easier for hetero's to catch. All you can do is wait out the window period. But a neg test at 6 weeks will put the odds in your favor for not having anything.