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Can I aguire other more aggressive strains by having unprotected sex?
Nov 5, 2007
Everyone is saying though my current virus has no drug resistance that I could aquire someone else's who had mutated or has resistance to some drugs and therefore I end up with an entirely new hiv that could rearrange every treatment so far. Can this happen?
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Response from Dr. Daar
Thank you for your questions.
What you are asking is whether someone with chronic HIV infection is at risk for being "superinfected" by another persons virus. While data is not definitive there are clearly increasing numbers of studies suggesting that this is possible. Consequently, at this time people should assume that superinfection is a possibility. This is particularly true since acquiring someone elses virus could have detrimental effects on you. This could be as a result of acquiring a virus with drug resistance or one that simply is not as well controlled by your body and results in CD4 cell decline and even disease progression.
Best,
Eric
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