Serosorting

When men serosort they choose who or how they fuck based on their partner’s HIV status. The term ‘sero’ in this context means ‘fluids in the body which can contain HIV’. Seroconcordant men are those that share the same HIV status (positive or negative) and serodiscordant men are those that do not share the same status. Fucking only seroconcordant men without condoms has been a fairly common practice among HIV-positive men for some time and appears to be becoming more popular among HIV negative men. Serosorting does not reduce HIV transmission very well and evidence shows that HIV-negative men who rely on serosorting are more likely to become infected with HIV than men who do not engage in any unprotected sex.

Serosorting is not a recommended strategy, because...

• Men who say they’re negative may not actually know their status.


• Even when fucking a recently tested HIV-negative man, if he has fucked without condoms since his last test he may still have HIV. It can take up to three months after exposure to the virus for it to show up in tests.


• The amount of the virus in blood and cum is even higher in the first few weeks of contracting HIV, meaning it is more infectious. This is the time when many men don’t know they have HIV.Serosorting increases your risk of contracting other STIs which can increase your risk of getting HIV if exposed.


• There are many different strains of HIV. If you are HIV-positive, a seroconcordant partner may pass on a more resistant strain of HIV, which may reduce the effectiveness of your own treatment, and increase the potential of the virus to cause damage to your immune system.