[Question #8347] Hiv question

45 months ago

I had sexual contact with someone who said that he lived in Africa for a while. While in Africa, the person said he ate bush meat, which he said was a monkey (I have no idea what kind). He said he wanted to be polite to the people who served him it so he ate it. I believe he said that it was cooked. The person told me he consumed bush meat after I had sexual contact with him. I am concerned the person might have contracted a rare strain /subtype of HIV through the consumption of the monkey, or just some other disease (as I said I have no idea what kind of monkey it was and maybe he didn't either so I have no idea of the potential for infection). I did not have vaginal or anal intercourse with this person, but did have other forms of sexual contact with him. I also once cut my foot by accident and he cut his finger when we were outdoors. He then used his first aid kit to bandage my toe while his hand was bleeding. He tried to be careful by not mixing blood but I have anxiety about this situation along with the sexual contact I just mentioned. My questions are 1)What are my chances of getting a rare type of HIV that is not detected by HIV tests in the USA? 2) What are my chances of catching any other disease based on this exposure? 3)If there is any kind of risk, what should I do at this point in terms of testing? 4) Also, how often does HIV jump from ape/monkey to humans when they consume bushmeat? If you had sexual contact with a person from that region who had consumed meat from apes or monkeys thought to be infected with HIV like viruses that hop humans, could you catch a rare strain that is not identified in tests?This issue gives me a lot of anxiety and I don't know how to handle it. It is on my mind often and is constantly causing me to feel depressed and anxious. Thanks for your help.

Edward W. Hook M.D.

45 months ago

Welcome to our form and thanks for your question. I’ll be glad to Provide some information which I hope you will find reassuring. Please note that the information that I am providing reflection summarizes theories regarding the origin of the HIV epidemic and, if they are correct, describe random incredibly rare events.

Your question relates to the fact that the HIV virus appears to have been a retrovirus virus present in apes which was acquired years ago in Africa, mutated to become an effective sexual transmitted human pathogen and has gone on to cause the global pandemic of HIV and AIDS. It is believed that the acquisition was most likely to have occurred when a hunter who had killed an infected ape cut himself while butchering his kill and introduced the virus into his own blood stream. No one can be sure how often this event occurred but we can be confident that HIV of the sort that infect humans is not present in apes. The transmission event decades ago from an infected ape to humans was An unusual event and certainly is not a regular occurrence. The fact that your friend ate bushmeat would not put him at risk for infection. These retroviruses are not transmitted by ingestion. I would have no concerns whatsoever that your friend is infected with HIV or any other retrovirus. Nor would I have any concern that he might’ve had an unusual retrovirus infection which could’ve been transmitted to you through sexual activity. Likewise I would not worry that he might have infected you by rendering first aid to you with an open cut on his hand. Thus, in response to your specific questions:

1. The chance that your friend was infected and then went on to infect you with a rare, difficult to detect retrovirus is virtually zero

2. Virtually zero

3. No testing is necessary

4. The process of HIV-like retroviruses jumping from apes to humans on a regular basis is extraordinarily low, one in chance in millions and millions of such exposures

I hope that this information is helpful to you. I urge you to not worry about the possibility you have described above. EWH

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