Hello Dr Jose/Dr Sean
Hope you are well.
Please do not be annoyed by my query. It sounds silly but perhaps getting a second opinion would help to give some sense and closure to this incident.
2 weeks back, I was doing some data collection in Tanzania, and I had to stay temporarily in a dilapidated boarding house. There was only one bathroom and is shared by all occupants. During one of the mornings, I went into the bathroom for a shower seconds after one of the occupants. After bathing, I went back into my room. In my room, I noticed there were genital secretions on my penis including around my urethra. I just wiped it off and thought nothing of it because it could be mine. But now I have been having symptoms that I never had before in my life. I have terrible muscle pain all over and my body’s very warm - underarm temperature (35.9-36.5) degrees Celsius. I have a terrible sore throat and both my armpits and groins ache often. I also have excessively dry skin, and feel very tired easily. I am slightly worried that those genital secretions might actually not be mine, and so it is possible that I could be infected with HIV because those secretions could have entered the mucous membrane of my urethra. It could have come from my bath towel that I had hung on the wall. I am usually a rational person but have become irrational after this episode. The fact that I was in Africa has exacerbated the situation.
1. In a worst-case scenario where these secretions on my penis were not mine and HIV-infected, and could have entered my urethra, would I be at risk for HIV?
2. Are my presenting symptoms consistent with seroconversion to HIV?
3. Should I come by to Freedomhealth to do a HIV duo test? Is testing recommended in this hypothetical situation?
I would like to move on in my life as my wife and I are planning to have a baby. Will be grateful for your reply, please. Thank you.
-Student in London