Unprotected sex less risky if HIV-positive partner on antiretroviral therapy
Zero transmission rate of virus seen in study of nearly 900 couples
By Meghan Rosen
Taking a combo of HIV drugs can make unprotected sex a whole lot safer.
Antiretroviral therapy cut HIV transmission between partners to zero, researchers report July 12 in JAMA.
That doesn’t mean there’s no risk, says infectious disease researcher Alison Rodger of University College London. But for heterosexual couples with an HIV-positive member who is on therapy and has low levels of virus in the blood, “the risk is extremely low — likely negligible,” she says. That may also be true for homosexual couples, Rodger says, but her team needs more data to say for sure.