Expert: Kristen Brannock, MPH - 8/7/2008

Question
i am karan, aged 23 yrs from India. i had sex with a prostitute on 2nd august 2008. while i was having sex my condom broke off. but because we were in the middle of the action i could not stop myself and continued. also i had a wound on my penis due to frequent masturbation. i am hell of a lot scared now. i asked her if she ever had sex with someone without condoms to which she said "only my boyfriend". all i want to know is: can i get HIV, what are my chances, and what is the earliest that an HIV test will give me a definite result. one additional info that i want to share with you is that she has been to a lot of places and had sex everywhere.

Answer
1. Yes you can get HIV if infected vaginal fluid entered your body (through your penis or another opening) during sex (when the condom broke)

2. Anytime that infected semen, vaginal fluid, blood and/or breast milk enter another person's body, transmission of HIV is possible.

3. It depends on what type of HIV test you have. The most commonly used test is the ELISA and it has a 1-3 month window period which means you should wait at least 3 months to test if you want an accurate result.