| Source | Percentage | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| NONSEXUAL MODES | ||
| Blood transfusion | 90.00% | 9 in 10 |
| Needle sharing (injection drug use) | 0.67% | 1 in 149 |
| Needlestick (percutaneous; through the skin) | 0.30% | 1 in 333 |
| Bitting, spitting, throwing body fluids (including semen or saliva); sharing sex toys | negligible | negligible |
| ORAL SEX | ||
| Receptive partner (giving a blow job) | 0% - 0.04% | 0-1 in 2,500 |
| Insertive partner (getting a blow job) | ~0% | about zero |
| VAGINAL SEX | ||
| Risk to female with HIV-positive male partner | ||
| ----- High-income countries | 0.08% | 1 in 1,250 |
| ----- Low-income countries | 0.30% | 1 in 333 |
| Risk to male with HIV-positive female partner | ||
| ----- High-income countries | 0.04% | 1 in 1,250 |
| ----- Low-income countries | 0.38% | 1 in 263 |
| ANAL SEX | ||
| Insertive parner's risk (circumcised) | 0.11% | 1 in 909 |
| Insertive partner's risk (uncircumcised) | 0.62% | 1 in 161 |
| Receptive partner's risk (without ejaculation) | 0.65% | 1 in 154 |
| Receptive partner's risk (with ejaculation) | 1.43% | 1 in 70 |
Other Numbers to Know
- Acute infection, roughly the 12 weeks after contracting HIV, can increase transmission likelihood 26 times, raising a 1.43% risk to 37% — higher than 1 in 3. This is because viral load skyrockets during the acute phase
- Presence of other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) can amplify risk by as much as 8 times
- Exposure to gender inequality and intimate partner violence an raise a woman’s HIV risk 1.5 times
Decrease HIV Risk
- Circumcision can lower heterosexual men’s risk by 60%
- Treatment as prevention, when HIV-positive people on meds maintain an undetectable viral load, can reduce transmission risk by 96%. Some research hints that the number may approach 100%
- Pre-exposure prophylaxis, PrEP, when HIV-negative people take daily med like Truvada, can decrease risk by upwards of 92%, depending on adherence. Post-exposure prophylaxis, PEP, works similarly
- Condoms, according to the CDC, lower risk on average by 80%
- forms of seroadaptation, such as having condomless sex only with people of the same sero status, can also lower risk, but the outcomes vary
Find HIV test centers faster!