Gay, Bisexual Men Increasingly Agree: HIV “Undetectable Equals Untransmittable”

Yet Transmission-Risk Misunderstandings Persist, Finds Large NIH-Supported Study

Extensive evidence from HIV prevention research studies has firmly established that “Undetectable Equals Untransmittable,” or U=U. This means that people living with HIV who achieve and maintain an undetectable viral load—the amount of virus in their blood—by taking antiretroviral therapy as prescribed do not sexually transmit HIV to others. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates this strategy is 100% effective against the sexual transmission of HIV.

Now, a new study of nearly 112,000 men who have sex with men in the United States has found increasing acceptance of the U=U message in this population. Overall, 54% of HIV-negative participants and 84% of participants with HIV correctly identified U=U as accurate. Study results were published online today in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes.