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Viral load increasingly features in safer-sex discussion and decisions by HIV-positive gay men and their partners
Gus Cairns, 2011-09-15 20:50:00
A Dutch study presented at the Tenth AIDS Impact conference this week showed that HIV-positive gay men are increasingly taking viral load into account when it comes to deciding whether to use a condom during sex.
Another study from the USA (Horvath) also showed that when they were in a situation where they knew they were with an HIV-positive partner, HIV-negative men were also discussing their partner's viral load and basing condom use decisions on it. However this study also found that disclosure and discussion of HIV status were rare; although viral load was discussed, more often than not when HIV-negative men did know their partner was positive, they usually were not aware or chose not to have sex at all.
A third survey from France (Rojas Castro), conducted by the national HIV organisation AIDES, found that a majority of HIV-positive people surveyed were aware of the 'Swiss Statement', the statement released by the Swiss Federal Commission on HIV and AIDS in January 2008 (Vernazza) which declared that under carefully-defined parameters, people with HIV with stable undetectable viral loads 'were not' infectious. It found that knowledge of the statement was associated with better health, less difficulty disclosing HIV status, and having a better sex life.
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