[Question #10814] Oral gonorrhea/hiv via French kissing
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19 months ago
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Hi, given that oral gonorrheaa can be spread via deep/french kissing, could it also make it easier for HiV to spread in the same or subsequent exposures ? Given that I understand that gonorrhea infection makes it easier to transmit HIV?
PS this is a general question, not related to the particular exposure which was the subject of my previous question.
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Edward W. Hook M.D.
19 months ago
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I'm sorry you continue to be worried about the encounter you described previously. This question is a bit argumentative. There are scientific data that oral gonorrhea is occasionally transmitted from throat to throat by deep kissing. There are NO data that HIV is transmitted by kissing of any sort. You really need to move on. My assessment is unchanged. EWH
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19 months ago
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As stated above, my query is not about the encounter I had mentioned, but a general one for future cases.
I do not understand why kissing is “no (practical?)” risk for HIV when oral sex is considered as low risk in both directions. If saliva really inhibits or kills HiV then shouldn’t oral sex be no risk for the mouth partner too? Likewise, it should be no risk to the penile partner as that one only comes into contact with saliva - as in kissing…. It’s so very confusing
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Edward W. Hook M.D.
19 months ago
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I really don't understand what is confusing to you. There are NO proven cases of HIV acquired through kissing, an observation that has been made during the entirety of the 40+ year epidemic. If kissing had led to transmission of HIV it would have been describe during the multiple decades of careful study. Your insertion of the word "practical" is unneeded.
As for oral sex, there are NO proven cases of HIV acquired from receipt of oral sex (fellatio) either despite literally millions of such exposures. Thus, as we have repeated said on this Forum, there is no risk for HIV from receipt of oral sex from and untreated HIV-infected partner. OTOH, there are PROVEN cases in which HIV has been acquired by HIV negative persons performing fellatio on untreated HIV infected persons. These events are so rare that their frequency can only be estimated and those estimates are that the risk for acquistion of HIV in this way is about 1 in 10,000 (i.e. like performing oral sex on an untreated HIV infected partner once daily for more than 27 years) . Such events are so rare that there are no analyses of factors which might modify (increase or decrease) the risk for acquistion.
Unfortunately, if you are looking on the internet on this topic, you are likely to be misled by the large amount of misinformation to be found there. I hope you are not doing that. EIt seems to me that you are worrying about something (i.e. HIV risk from exposure to the saliva on an infected person) which is, for all practical purposes, inconsequential. EWH
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19 months ago
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There are statements to the effect that saliva can contain a higher viral load in some people who have just seroconverted or who are at AIDS stage and that thus this could pose more risk … this besides the concern of possible blood in mouth due to sores, bleeding gums etc
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Edward W. Hook M.D.
19 months ago
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None of this changes that there are NO instances of persons with recent infections and high viral loads transmitting HIV through kissing or saliva exposure- NONE. I think you misunderstand that HIV is really not all that infection. Even with needlesticks from persons with untreated HIV, less than 1% become infected. As I said above (repeatedly) kissing and saliva exchange is a no risk encounter. you need to take a deep breath and relax.
End of thread. EWH
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