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You cannot get HIV from kissing, by hugging, or by shaking hands with somebody with HIV – or any other normal social contact.

Nor can you get HIV by being in the same place as someone with HIV, or by sharing household items such as crockery, cutlery, or bed linen.

HIV is not passed on by spitting, sneezing or coughing.

Click here to find out more about HIV transmission.

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.

Can mosquitoes transmit HIV?

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

Transmission facts

Transmission facts

Myths and facts

Myths and facts

Is HIV man-made?

An illustration of an HIV virus.

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

Domizia Salusest | www.domiziasalusest.com

Undetectable = Untransmittable (U=U)

U=U leaflet front cover

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

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?

Transmission and the law

Transmission and the law

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

Sex toys and the risk of HIV transmission

fizkes/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.