Thread: HIV Infection risks

Here's an interesting article on the subject:

Swiss Say Unprotected Sex for Some Positive Men Is OK
by Kilian Melloy
EDGE Contributor
Thursday Feb 14, 2008



Swiss researchers say that people living with HIV pose no risk to their partners even if they practice unprotected sex, as long as they are consistently on effective anti-retroviral regimens and there are no other STDs present.

The conclusion, issued in the form of a consensus statement, was published at the end of January in the Bulletin of Swiss Medicine, reported Aidsmap.com in a Jan. 30 article.

The statement was authored by several of Switzerland’s leading AIDS authorities, including the president of the Swiss Federa Commission for HIV/AIDS, Prof. Pietro Vernazza, Geneva University Hospital’s Prof. Bernard Hirschel, the president of the Swiss Federal Office of Pubic Health’s Clinical and Therapeutic Aspects of HIV / AIDS Subcommittee, Dr. Markus Flepp, and Lugano Regional Hospital’s Dr. Enos Bernasconi.

The authors write that, "after review of the medical literature and extensive discussion," their consensus is that, "An HIV-infected person on antiretroviral therapy with completely suppressed viraemia... is not sexually infectious, i.e. cannot transmit HIV through sexual contact."

This would mean that partners in a committed relationship in which one partner is HIV-positive and the other is negative would not necessarily need to use protection, assuming a few things: one, that the HIV-positive partner is on an effective course of anti-retroviral medication and is conscientious about staying on the regimen; second, that no other STDs are present; also, that the infected partner’s viral load is less than 40 per ml., and has been for at least the past six months; and also, that the partners remain in a monogamous relationship, or, if not, continue to use condoms with outside sexal contacts (and,in that case, with one another also, to help prevent other STDs from entering the picture).

The statement says that the authors "realize... that medical and biologic data available today do not permit proof that HIV-infection during effective antiretroviral therapy is impossible, because the non-occurrence of an improbable event cannot be proven. If no transmission events were observed among 100 couples followed for two years, for instance, there might still be some such events if 10,000 couples are followed for ten years."

Continued the statement, "The situation is analogous to 1986, when the statement ’HIV cannot be transmitted by kissing’ was publicised. This statement has not been proven, but after 20 years’ experience its accuracy appears highly plausible."

The reference to the safety of kissing between a positive and a negative partner turns out to have some direct relevance to the current conclusion; partners on effective anti-retroviral regimines, the research shows, have never been recorded as transmitting HIV to their virus negative partners, whereas those who were not on such a regimen showed a rate of transmission of nearly 9%.

Similar observations were made about the potential risk of transmisison from HIV-positive mothers to their infants; also, semen and female bodily secretions, the statement said, carrried undetectable viral loads in patients on effective regimens. Only after patients stopped taking their anti-retrovirals did viral loads increase in such bodily secretions.

Wrote the authors, "As a rule [genital secretion viral load]rises after, not before, an increase in plasma viral load."

However, HIV in the blood did rise quickly if patients discontinued their regimens.

In short, wrote the authors, "These data indicate that the risk of transmission is greatly decreased by antiretroviral therapy."

An STD could lead to a localized increase of the HIV viral presence, as with a genital sore, the authors wrote, but added that with treatment the locla viral load diminished once again.

The authors summed up with, "During effective antiretroviral therapy, free virus is absent from blood and genital secretions."

The authors continued, "Epidemiologic and biologic data indicate that during such treatment, there is no relevant risk of transmission."

Said the statement, "Residual risk can not be scientifically excluded, but is, in the judgment of the Commission, negligibly small."

Swiss Say Unprotected Sex for Some Positive Men Is OK :: EDGE Boston

Those figures amaze me, OP, though I'll admit to having no idea if they're correct or not.
I've read a lot about certain African countries having very high numbers of HIV infected heterosexuals (often sadly, through rape) and wonder how this is possible, if the figures you presented there are true.

HB, interesting article. Not sure that I'd be prepared to gamble my life on their study, though. Wonder if the authors or researchers would be prepared to gamble on their results?

Originally Posted by November Rain

Those figures amaze me, OP, though I'll admit to having no idea if they're correct or not.
I've read a lot about certain African countries having very high numbers of HIV infected heterosexuals (often sadly, through rape) and wonder how this is possible, if the figures you presented there are true.

HB, interesting article. Not sure that I'd be prepared to gamble my life on their study, though. Wonder if the authors or researchers would be prepared to gamble on their results?

I believe it's because we've all been lied to for the sake of avoiding panic enmass. The real truth is it can be transmitted by mosquitos..Look at the data everywhere the highest population of mosquitos are there is also an extreme rate of HIV. I have other facts and anecdotal evidence I can provide later to support my suggestion..I just dont have the time now..