Question:

I was exposed to an HIV positive man, who later informed me that he had it the whole four years we dated. I tested negative all the way up until yesterday - five years later I tested positive, why is this? I thought after being tested for one year and being negative that I was in the clear. I was with my next partner for four years following this realtionship and he still test negative. Can you please shed some light on this for me as these are the only two guys I had unprotected sex with!

Answer provided by:

Donna Sweet, M.D.
Professor of Internal Medicine
University of Kansas School of Medicine - Wichita

To date, all clinical evidence has shown that people will test positive from an exposure to someone who is HIV+ within 6 months of that exposure if they contracted the virus. So, if you tested negative 6 months after the last time you had sex with that person, you would have been negative from that last exposure and any previous sexual contact with that person.

Your current partner if recently infected and in the "window period" where the virus is present, but the antibody ("positive test") is not, could possibly have infected you with the virus even though still testing negative. To be absolutely certain that this partner was negative, they would have had to be 6 months from any possible contact with the virus and had an HIV negative test then. Without having more history and information, it is difficult to assess the probability of who originated the exposure and when you might have become infected.

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