Vol. 3 No. 4 (2023)
Health Technology Reviews

Risk of Sexual Transmission of HIV with Antiretroviral Therapy and Variable or Suppressed Viral Load

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Published April 24, 2023

Key Messages

  • The absolute risk of HIV transmission through sexual activity, reported as incidence rates of observed seroconversions across person-years of follow-up, ranged widely across the included studies of sex partners living with HIV with variable (or unreported) viral loads.
  • Two studies included sex partners living with HIV with suppressed viral loads of fewer than 200 copies/mL, reporting no phylogenetically linked seroconversions in either study.
  • Most studies in this report included data from heterosexual serodiscordant sex partners and did not report follow-up viral loads of sex partners living with HIV.
  • The included studies incorporated variable methods, investigated a broad variety of populations and exposures, and demonstrated a wide range of methodological strengths and limitations.