Welcome to our Forum.  thanks for your confidence in our service.  I'll be glad to comment.  

1.  Most people assume that commercial sex workers are very likely to have STIs, including HIV.  In fact however, while this is an occupational hazard for CSWs, as a group and particularly those who work by appointment or in brothels, tend to take very good care of themselves and test regularly (unlike someone who is not a professional and may be involved repeated in "one night stands").  They tend to use condoms appropriately (to protect themselves), to use them correctly, and to get checked regularly to avoid their "occupational hazards".  I suspect that your partner was truthful when she said she did not have STI or HIV

2.  Condoms break about 1% of the time they are used, more so with anal sex.

3.  That she wanted to stop when she felt the condom break (I agree with your assessment) again suggests that she was taking precautions.

4.  The illness you describe on day 16 was not the typical ARS of recently acquired HIV which is characterized by HIGH fever, SEVERE sore throat, and troublesome and uncomfortable muscle aches.  I suspect, as you suggest, that this was a run of the mill cold.

5.  Finally, about testing.  Please remember that testing will not change whether or not you have HIV (in my opinion you are most unlikely to have acquired it from the encounter you describe), but it will provide you with very useful information, most likely showing conclusively that you did not acquired HIV form the encounter you described or, in the unlikely situation that you are infected, allowing you to seek care which is well tolerated and highly effective.  There is no real downside to testing.

I hope this information and perspective is helpful to you.  Please don't worry. I sincerely doubt that you were infected during the encounter you have described.  EWH

Thank you for your response.   I have a couple follow-up questions.

- Would ARS typically make someone feel severely ill and take longer than 3-4 days?  Can I conclude that a sore throat (although mine was not severe) would not indicate ARS if high fever along with it does not exist?  How likely someone is HIV negative if ARS symptoms do not show up?

- Do you think the petechiae on top of my feet (that resolved in 1-2 weeks, and probably triggered by prolonged trekking) at 6 months post exposure would indicate anything about HIV? As you might guess, I came across to many things on internet.

Sigh

1.  An isolated sore throat is NOT the ARS.  The ARS is characterized by HIGH fever, severe sore throat, and widespread, sever muscle and joint aches.

2.  No, your petechiae in NO way suggest HIV

You need to stay off the interent.  All too much of what is there is misleading.  EWH

Hi Mr. Hook,

I am wondering if I'm overstressing about this case. In your experience, would you consider such brief anal exposure would be sufficient enough for transmission, and would warrant an HIV test?

Thanks for your question.  In general, this was a low risk exposure.  The circumstances are such that your risk for acquisition of any STI, including HIV is quite low and is not something I would spend much time worrying about. OTOH, we do recommend periodic testing for the major STIs (gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis and HIV in particular) for persons who have had multiple sex or new, casual sex partners.  How often this should be done is a matter of personal perception but in general once every 6-12 months seems to be a good recommendation for most persons.  We recommend this as a general sexual health recommendation, aimed at assuring those who are not infected and allowing those who have unknowingly been infected to seek treatment.  Thus, in your case, at some pint in the next few moths, I would suggest testing as a screening event, assuming that your tests will be negative.

I hope that this comment is helpful.  As per Forum guidelines, this thread will be closed shortly.  EWH