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Easy-to-read and illustrated information on HIV transmission.

HIV can only be passed on when one person's body fluids get inside another person.

HIV can be passed on during sex without a condom, injecting drug use, pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding.

There is no risk of HIV being passed on by shaking hands, kissing, sharing cups or plates, coughing or spitting, using a toilet or mosquito bites.

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Transmission facts

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Transmission facts
Roger Pebody

Roger Pebody

Commissioning Editor

Roger joined aidsmap in 2008 and was Managing Editor from 2018 to 2024. As a freelancer, he now edits aidsmap’s news and conference coverage, as well as working on updates to About HIV pages. He is also a contributing science editor for TheBodyPro, a freelance journalist for The Lancet HIV, and a medical writer helping researchers prepare articles for peer-reviewed journals. He began working on HIV at Gay Men Fighting AIDS in the mid-1990s.

Basic information

How is HIV transmitted?

Two men embracing.

How is HIV not transmitted?

A couple kissing.

Can mosquitoes transmit HIV?

A close-up of a mosquito sitting on a hand, with a green background.

Myths and facts

Myths and facts

Is HIV man-made?

An illustration of an HIV virus.

Undetectable = Untransmittable (U=U)

U=U leaflet front cover

What does undetectable mean?

What does undetectable = untransmittable (U=U) mean?

Domizia Salusest | www.domiziasalusest.com

I have HIV. Can I hug and kiss people I’m close to?

I’m living with HIV. Can I have sex without a condom?

What’s the difference between PrEP and PEP for HIV prevention?

Transmission and the law

Transmission and the law

We’re both living with HIV. Can we have sex without a condom?

I’m starting a relationship with someone who has HIV. What do I need to know?

HIV transmission

Illustration of purple HIV viruses on a white background.

Impossible routes of HIV transmission

A couple kissing.

Undetectable viral load and HIV transmission

Mareike Günsche | www.aspect-us.com

Condoms

Image: sirtravelalot/Shutterstock.com

How to use condoms and lubricant

Image: kittiwat chaitoep/Shutterstock.com

Female condoms for anal sex

One man standing behind another, removing the jeans from the man in front.

Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP)

A white pill bottle is tipped over with blue pills spilling out on to a wooden table., along with white pills.

PEP

PEP

Oral sex and HIV

Image: NDAB Creativity/Shutterstock.com

Estimated HIV risk per exposure

Image: Kateryna Kon/Shutterstock.com

HIV in the UK

Two older men talk to each other in a garden.

Harm reduction

Naloxone at a needle exchange in Birmingham, UK. Nigel Brunsdon/nigelbrunsdon.com

Needlestick injuries, discarded needles and the risk of HIV transmission

Image: funnyangel/Shutterstock.com

Where did HIV come from?

Democratic Republic of the Congo. Image by Christina Bergey. Creative Commons licence.