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AIDS/Cofused...can I Have HIV

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Expert: Gorkey Gourab - 6/8/2009


Question
hi i m sk  male 26 years of age..i was recently got engaged for marriage.recently
i got a small spot on hip i went to doc to find out he said its herpes the disease i
have never heard of..i went to internet and find out about herpes i was shocked
to see its an STD ......i never had sex i am a virgins....i went to the clinic for
second opinion and the second doc said its a Boil not herpes but till then it was
quite late as i went into Depression and get my self tested For HIV 1 and 2
antibodies,,twice in 3 days guessing may be one report is false negative.... The
test done was TRIDOT and other was VITRO s immunodiagnostic system which
gave negative report....like 0.07 >.9 NON reactive....i took this test thinking may
be in my younger days somebody mite have exploited(done sex to me) me in my
sleep say 7-8 years before ....i am still in depression. NOW i have got one more
thing that is vitamins B12 deficiency ,,,and getting shots for that too i don't know
what is going on with me as i cant live now cant sleep cant do anything just home
ridden please help me as my marriage is coming in few days i m very
confused.....what to do ....please help me out thinking like i m your younger
brother,,,,,,Do i have HIV?????

Answer
Hello SK!

Welcome.

First thing is that herpes does not necessarily spreads through unprotected sexual contact only. Same issue applies to HIV transmission. There are a number of non-sexual was of STI transmission.

There are a number of symptoms for herpes. I am not a medical doctor. However, based on my interactions with my friends who are doctors and based on my literature review, it seems that you have nothing to worry about. Sometimes, doctors misdiagnose simple pimple or boils with herpes. You can consult a third doctor (STI specialist, , who is more renowned and experienced) to get the result for sure.

HIV testing, if negative, there is nothing to worry about either.

I am honored that you have considered me as your brother. So, don't be depressed my brother. But, be safe and you can browse to know the other possible ways of STI transmission.

Take care my brother.

Best wishes,
Gorkey

AIDS

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Gorkey Gourab

Expertise

Social and behavioral issues related to HIV transmission, sexually transmitted infections, Human Rights issues, rights of marginalized populations, gender and sexuality, research design and analysis related social & behavioral issues, , computer assisted qualitative data analysis and data management (using ATLAS.ti, ANTHROPAC, NVivo 8)

Experience

Specialized in Medical Anthropology. Working on Social and behavioral studies related to HIV transmission as well as Human Rights issues. Specialization in gender, sexuality, masculinity, behavioral studies related to HIV transmission. Qualitative research, programmatic and M&E experience with MSM, hijra (TG), indigenous groups, female sex workers for more than 7 years.

Organizations
International Center for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B) as Manager - M&E (Qualitative) with HIV/AIDS Programme at Laboratory Sciences Division

Publications
(1) Khan, S. I., Hussain, M. I., Parveen, S., Bhuiyan, M. I., Gourab, G., & Bhuiya, A. (2009). Living on the extreme margin: Social exclusion of the hijra in Bangladesh. Journal of health, population and nutrition. (2) Khan, S. I., Hussain, M. I., Gourab, G., Parveen, S., Bhuiyan, M. I., & Sikder, J. (2008). Not to stigmatize but to humanize sexual lives of the transgender (Hijra) in Bangladesh: condom chat in the AIDS era. Journal of LGBT Health Research, 4(2-3), 127-141. (3) Khan, S. I., Pasa, K., Gourab, G., Hasan, A. M. R., Kaukab, S. S. T., & Islam, A. (2007a). Living with risks and vulnerabilities to STIs/HIV: a qualitative assessment of indigenous populations at the northwestern belt in Bangladesh. Paper presented at the ASCON: ICDDR,B, Dhaka, Bangladesh. From http://www.icddrb.org/images/11thAscon_Orals_Day2.pdf. (4) Gourab, G., Karim, M. S., & Karim, Z. (2004). Religiosity of the santal community. Paper presented at the International Seminar on Anthropology: Chittagong University, Chittagong, Bangladesh. (5) Khan, S. I., Gourab, G., Sarker, G. F., Ghosh, S., & Khondokar, S. I. (2008a). Mapping geographical and service delivery gaps and estimating size of street, hotel and residence based female sex workers in Bangladesh (draft report). Dhaka: ICDDR,B & Save the Children USA. (6) Khan, S. I., Gourab, G. et al. (2008b). Understanding the operational dynamics and possible HIV interventions for residence-based female sex workers in two divisional cities in Bangladesh (draft report). Dhaka: ICDDR,B & Save the Children USA. (7) Khan, S. I., Gourab, G. et al. (2007b). Understanding the context of risks and vulnerabilities to STI/HIV and sexual health: an anthropological assessment of the indigenous community of northwestern belt of Bangladesh. Dhaka: ICDDR,B. (8) Khan, S. I., Parveen, S., Hussain, M. I., Bhuiyan, M. I., & Gourab, G. (2007c). Socialization and sexuality constructions of hijra: implications for STIs/HIV intervention. Dhaka: ICDDR,B.

Education/Credentials
(1) Post graduate in Anthropology, University of Rajshahi, Bangladesh (2) Training on HIV-AIDS related qualitative data analysis and manuscript writing, Center for Global Health, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA

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