The woman, 46, is believed to have been infected by her 43-year-old lesbian partner through “rough sex.”
The woman told health officials she supplemented her income by selling her blood plasma. She was tested on two separate occasions for HIV at blood banks but the results came back negative.
But when the 46-year-old returned a third time to a blood bank to sell her blood, the HIV test was positive.
The woman said she and her partner used sex toys, and that they engaged in sex so rough it caused both women to bleed.
Testing confirmed the 46-year-old woman with newly diagnosed HIV “had a virus virtually identical to that of her female partner, who was diagnosed previously with HIV and who had stopped receiving antiretroviral treatment in 2010,” according to the CDC’s Weekly Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
The CDC said it was contacted by the Houston Department of Health about the case in August 2012.
The woman newly diagnosed with HIV did not report any other risk factors, such as injection drug use, tattooing, transfusions or transplants, officials said. She supplemented her income by selling plasma, and tested negative for HIV in March 2012.
Ten days after donating plasma, however, in April 2012, she went to an emergency room complaining of a sore throat, fever, vomiting and decreased appetite, among other symptoms. She again tested negative for HIV.
However, she tested positive for HIV when attempting to sell plasma 18 days later, and further testing confirmed the diagnosis.
