Part II Questions and Answers About HIV Transmission 1. How is HIV transmitted? HIV is spread when blood, semen or vaginal fluids from a person living with HIV who is not virally suppressed gets into the bloodstream of another person These body fluids are present during sexual activity, which explains why HIV can be passed from one person to another during different sexual behaviors The risk of transmission depends on the type of sexual behavior Oral sex, when a person puts his or her mouth on another person’s genitals, has a low risk of passing HIV Vaginal intercourse, when a man puts his penis inside a woman, is a higher risk activity for passing HIV The sexual behavior with the highest risk is anal intercourse, when a man puts his penis into the anus of another manor woman If either partner is living with HIV, the virus maybe transmitted, especially if blood is present during sex The risk of transmission for any of these behaviors can be lowered in a variety of ways, including Condom use (see question #5) • Antiretroviral treatment for the person living with HIV Pre-exposure prophylaxis or PrEP, a daily medication that a person who is not living with HIV can take to protect themselves (see question #14) A person living with HIV who is on HIV treatment and virally suppressed for 6 months or longer has effectively no risk of passing HIV to a partner through sex
