Self-flagellation: Possible route of transmission of HIV

[1] The most common route of HIV transmission is via unprotected sexual intercourse, followed by vertical transmission during pregnancy and childbirth, sharing of contaminated needles, injecting drug use, and transfusion of contaminated blood. In the past, there are few case reports highlighting transmission of blood-borne pathogens such as hepatitis B and human T-cell lymphotropic virus (HTLV-1) infection due to self-flagellation. A person infected with HIV may have no symptoms for up to 10 years or more depending on the earlier health status. [...]even though the patient has stopped self-flagellation for a year, it is still likely that he has contracted the infection previously.