The model, 27, has been documenting the ups and downs of her health journey on TikTok in a series of social media posts since revealing her illness in March.

Complications from her health issues have seen Tew lose sight in one eye, muscle atrophy weaken her legs to the point of wheelchair dependency, and her weight plummet to 65 pounds. She recently revealed her weight had varied but reached at most 95 pounds.

As her health continues to improve, Tew shared on Monday that the viral load in her blood means that she cannot transmit HIV to another person.

“I am undetectable, you guys. That means untransmittable,” she said in a TikTok video. “With that being said, people are asking me, ‘Are you going to marry or have a baby with someone with AIDS?’ I don’t need to marry somebody with AIDS. They don’t have to have AIDS. That means I cannot transmit it to the other person.”

Tew went on to say that her potential partner could take precautions, such as going on the medicine pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEp), which reduces the chances of contracting HIV through sexual intercourse and while injecting drugs.

Noting that there can sometimes be side effects associated with taking PrEp, Tew advised that her partner could also “just be smart and use a condom.”

“I can have a normal life. Let’s get rid of that stigma,” she added as the video drew to a close. “AIDS isn’t a death sentence. I survived—I’m a survivor.”

Thanks to antiretroviral therapy, HIV/AIDS patients can suppress the viral replication within the body and block transmission to others. The patient will subsequently have such a low level of HIV in the blood that it becomes undetectable in a conventional analysis.

Dr. Laura Guay, vice president of research at the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, told Newsweek: “There are currently more than 24 effective anti-HIV drugs that are commonly used in 2-4 drug combinations to reduce the amount of virus in the body (viral load) to extremely low levels that cannot be measured with our VL tests- called ‘undetectable VL.’

“Having undetectable VL is critical to preventing the progression of HIV infection to symptomatic infection or AIDS and preventing transmission of the virus to partners. It is important to seek medical care from an experienced HIV provider if you are HIV-positive.

“Your health care provider will determine which combination of drugs will work best for you to bring your virus levels to undetectable. Sexual partners should also be tested and get on treatment if positive.

“If your partner is HIV-negative, there are steps that you both can take to decrease the chance of passing on the virus, especially while you have detectable VL. The most important thing that you can do is to take your anti-HIV drugs as directed consistently and track your VL results to get to ‘undetectable.’

“Until you have reached undetectable VL, you should use condoms consistently and your partner can also take anti-HIV drugs to prevent infection (called pre-exposure prophylaxis or PrEP).”

Tew recently responded to questions from her TikTok followers on whether she can have children following her health complications.

“So, a lot of you have been asking me can I still have kids,” Tew started the video. “So, I haven’t had a period for over a year, and I was actually worried about that myself. But my body is getting better.”

“And guess who started to have a girl’s time of month again?” Tew continued. “So that’s kind of good news, because you can’t have a baby if you can’t have a period. So, I got it! I’m not excited, but I’m excited to know that my body is getting so much better. So, I hope that answers your question.”

Dr. Guay told Newsweek that it is possible for those living with HIV to give birth without transmitting the virus if certain precautions are taken.

“A woman living with HIV can give birth to an HIV-free baby,” Guay said. “The most important thing that she can do is to work with an HIV health care provider as early as possible (ideally before getting pregnant) to minimize her risk of passing on the infection to her baby.

“Taking safe and effective anti-HIV medications throughout the pregnancy and the period following childbirth to decrease the amount of virus in her blood, avoiding breastfeeding, and ensuring that the newborn baby also receives anti-HIV medication offers the best chance of having a negative baby.”

In late September, Tew shared a video clip of herself taking steps with the aid of a walking frame. Tew told her followers that they were her first steps in a year.

Back in August, Tew said she had undergone eye surgery, after her illness caused significant sight loss. On one of her posts, she used the hashtag “#CMV” in reference to cytomegalovirus retinitis, an ocular complication for people living with AIDS.

Although there is no cure for AIDS or for HIV, the virus that causes it, medications can control the infection and greatly slow its progression.

“Thanks to these life-saving treatments, most people with HIV in the U.S. today don’t develop AIDS. Untreated, HIV typically turns into AIDS in about eight to 10 years,” Mayo Clinic states.

Update 10/19/22, 8:15 a.m. ET: This article was updated to a statement from Dr. Laura Guay.