Thu 1 May 2014 In: New Zealand Daily News View at Wayback View at NDHA
File Photo The New Zealand AIDS Foundation is underlining that the risk of HIV transmission not completely ruled out even if a viral load is undetectable. It says while the short term risk of passing on HIV if one partner has an undetectable viral load appears to be low as per the recent PARTNER study, the research itself is clear that the degree of risk for anal sex is still uncertain. The study estimates the risk of passing on HIV at up to 32 per cent, over 10 years, to the HIV negative partner through receptive anal sex. “HIV treatments will improve your health if you’re living with HIV and it is good news that undetectable viral load reduces the risk of infection,” NZAF Executive Director Shaun Robinson says “But treatments are no way a replacement for condom use. The Partner Study scientists themselves warn that treatments don’t guarantee the safety of having sex without a condom. Robinson says scientific studies are conducted in very controlled environments and in real life you can’t tell who has HIV and who doesn’t and if their viral load is suppressed or not. “Condoms remain the only realistic way of protecting the gay community from HIV and other STIs.”
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Thursday, 1st May 2014 - 3:59pm