Important note: Information in this Q&A was accurate in 2007. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.Hello. I am totally baffled. I am a 38 year old male. My girlfriend whom I went out with for eight years was HIV Positive and has now developed full blown AIDS. We slept together regularly. I went for an HIV test last week and was told my results indicated I am negative.
My question is ... How can this be possible? My medical practitioner told me that I am one of the rare few individuals that cannot get infected with HIV.
I would appreciate a response to this puzzling question.
I assume your girlfriend has HIV-1, the most common type of HIV everywhere except West Africa where HIV-2 is common. The standard antibody tests find HIV-1 and 2, but the confirmation by Western Blot may come out negative for HIV-2. So you may want to check that possibility. Also HIV-1, subtype O, may not be picked up on the standard HIV-1/2 antibody tests.
But your physician is probably right in that you are one of those persons who lacks the connector site on the t-cell that HIV uses called CCR 5. This happens in about 1% of people of Northern European origin - less in other groups. About 80% of HIV strains use CCR. But don't go on the assumption that you are HIV invulnerable. Some strains of HIV use CXCR 4. You must still practice safe sex, since the HIV in a person's body can mutate over time from CCR 5 to CXCR4.
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