Dating apps are full of surprises and now there are new symbols singles need to know. In 2018, Grindr, Hornet, Scruff or Tinder profiles might now include UVL, U=U or [+U], with some, including Grindr, having specific HIV status fields.
These abbreviations signal someone is saying they are living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and have achieved an undetectable viral load (UVL). This means that the virus is still present in their body, but it cannot be detected by standard viral load tests.
Getting to undetectable means much better long-term health benefits, and if it can be maintained for at least six months, HIV does not pass on during sex - even without condoms.
The PARTNER and Opposites Attract studies documented more than 34,000 recorded instances of anal sex where one partner was HIV positive with an undetectable viral load, and the other was HIV negative. Condoms weren't used in any of these instances - and not a single transmission occurred.
New Zealand AIDS Foundation (NZAF) executive director Dr Jason Myers says these study results provide strong evidence that with the combination of condoms, the daily HIV prevention pill PrEP and UVL, ending the spread of HIV in New Zealand is possible.
"We now know that if someone living with HIV is on treatment and has suppressed the level of virus in their blood for more than six months, then HIV does not transmit through sex.
"So it follows that if we can diagnose everyone living with HIV and treat them, then we can seriously halt the spread of HIV," he says.
There are around 600 people living with undiagnosed HIV in New Zealand – which means a significant proportion of people are not on treatment, and therefore will not have an undetectable viral load. Undiagnosed HIV accounts for a large proportion of new transmissions.
All sexually active men who have sex with men should be testing for HIV twice a year, adds Myers. Read more