World health authorities were quick to issue warnings Friday after Swiss researchers published a study claiming that HIV patients who meet strict conditions and are receiving treatment can safely have unprotected sex with uninfected partners.
In a joint statement, UNAIDS and the World Health Organization said they "strongly recommend a comprehensive package of HIV prevention approaches, including correct and consistent use of condoms."
In a report published in the Bulletin of Swiss Medicine, Switzerland's Federal AIDS Commission said that in couples where one partner is HIV-positive, it is not necessary to use condoms so long as the infected partner is adhering to an antiretroviral regimen and has shown suppressed viral levels for at least six months.
Condom use remains a vital part of comprehensive HIV prevention, UNAIDS and WHO said, along with limited sexual partners, non-penetrative sex, and early treatment for other STDs.
Some noted that the researchers looked at heterosexual couples rather than homosexuals, and that it focused on vaginal, not anal, sex. "The real thing missing [from the Swiss advice] is about anal sex and getting a new [STD]," said Roger Peabody of the Terrence Higgins Trust AIDS organization.
[PNU editor's note - CDC issued the following statement on the Swiss research: "An article recently published by Switzerland's Federal Commission for HIV/AIDS states that HIV-positive individuals on effective antiretroviral therapy are not at risk for transmitting HIV to their sexual partners under certain circumstances. The Commission acknowledges that there are no scientific data that the risk of transmission in these circumstances is zero. [CDC] underscores its recommendation that people living with HIV who are sexually active use condoms consistently and correctly with all sex partners."]
02/01/08
GLOBAL: Health Agencies Stick to Condom Advice After Swiss AIDS Study
Source: Agence France Presse; Courtesy of the CDC National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention