Question:

I am very concerned about possible exposure to HIV-2. I am married and in a monogamous marriage. My husband informed me that he had sex with a prostitute in Mexico before we were together and the condom broke during vaginal intercourse with her. He took a Home Access HIV-1 test (about 3 months later) which came back negative. When he told me this I freaked out and made him take another test (approx. 1.5 years after possible exposure) and it came back negative.

I have been researching HIV and came across HIV-2 and am now worried sick that he might be infected with that. I have already driven him crazy with my worries about HIV, and he has already taken another test because of my anxiety (mentioned earlier) I am wondering if I can put my worries to rest, or if HIV-2 is something that I should be concerned about, and request he test for that too.

Please answer, I anxiety stricken over this. I was so relieved he tested negative to HIV-1, and thought we were in the clear. Now I am obsessing over the possibility of HIV-2. Please clarify this for me. Thank you for your help, I really appreciate it.

--Worried

Answer provided by:

Mark H. Katz, M.D.
Regional HIV/AIDS Physician Coordinator
Kaiser Permanente of Southern California

Dear Worried--
Your concern about possible exposure to HIV-2 seems to be riddling you with anxiety. In actuality, there were no more than 78 cases in the U.S. over an 11-year period, and 52 of these persons were from West Africa--where HIV-2 usually comes from.

Remember, the chance of a given Mexican sex worker even being HIV-positive is very, very low. And then, someone who has sexual contaxt with someone who has HIV (which we do not know she does, and probably does not) would have a less than 1% chance of contracting the virus. You can see, the numbers make the scenario you are worried about next to impossible.

I would suggest you work with whatever resources you have to put this event behind you, at least in terms of HIV transmission.

Good luck!
Mark Katz, MD

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