Experts Rubbish Report (Press, 2 November 1988)
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Summary: Experts Rubbish Report (Press, 2 November 1988)
Auckland A.I.D.S. experts have dismissed a recent overseas study suggesting that women engaging in unprotected sex with infected men are at minimal risk. The study, conducted by researchers at Rotterdam’s University Hospital, focused on the wives of 13 haemophiliacs infected with the A.I.D.S. virus. The researchers concluded that 11 couples had engaged in unprotected sex up to 2,520 times while using condoms in 1,252 instances, reporting no evidence of wives being infected. In contrast, Auckland Hospital’s haemotologist, Elisabeth Berry, highlighted that international studies have indicated up to 30 per cent of the wives of A.I.D.S.-infected haemophiliacs contracted the virus, with rates varying globally. In South America, the rate approached 30 per cent, while New Zealand currently has around seven women married to H.I.V. positive haemophiliacs, with none having contracted the virus so far. Berry noted that the risk of infection is influenced by the progression of the virus in the infected partner and the susceptibility of the non-infected partner. Warren Lindberg, director of the A.I.D.S. foundation, added that the likelihood of infection increases significantly if the infected partner has full-blown A.I.D.S. Additionally, the presence of sexually transmitted diseases in the non-infected partner can further heighten the risk due to a compromised immune system. Lindberg pointed out that while a single non-infected partner might remain free from the virus for years, those with multiple partners face a higher chance of encountering someone in an infectious stage. He critiqued the Rotterdam study's size, considering it unrepresentative, and observed that the women involved were likely to be at lower risk as none were intravenous drug users, and the husbands had not engaged in homosexual encounters. The debate highlights the complexity and variability of A.I.D.S. transmission dynamics, stressing that health warnings should consider a range of factors beyond the specific circumstances of small studies.
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