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It's possible for it to always lay dormant without visible symptoms. This is how 1 out of 5 people in american carry this, 80% of them without ever knowing.   Best thing to do is go get tested. that's the only way you'll know for sure. And telling your partner will be difficult, but it's possible they have it (in which case there really isn't much to worry about) or they don't and you contracted it from a previous relationship.   Either way your partner should respect your concern for their health/safety and repsect you for it. If they don't then they are not a strong enough person for you to be with. Three out of four of those conversations over the last 8 years have ended well for me, and I am now in a very happy commited relationship with a wonderful woman. If the one before her (who didn't want to pursue the relationship due to my condition) hadn't reacted her way, I never would have met who I consider to be "the one" :)