AIDS does not prevent patients from having risky sex. The latest survey by the National AIDS Research Agency (ANRS), Vespa2, published in the Weekly epidemiological bulletin of July 2, emphasizes the medical progress made by medical research and the daily life of the HIV-positive population.
Among AIDS carriers, a large majority declare themselves sexually active. About 71% of them say they have had at least one sexual intercourse in the last 12 months, while 62.5% say they are in a stable relationship.
Concerning the sexuality of patients, ANRS explains that “in recent years, corroborating scientific data has shown a reduction in the transmissibility of the virus in people on antiretroviral treatment. The hopes arising from this observation have not yet been translated into the preventive behavior of those affected. “
Concretely, about 10% of AIDS carriers with a high risk of transmitting the virus have risky sexual behavior with unprotected intercourse.
A high risk of transmission
The survey, carried out between April 2011 and January 2012 among 3022 HIV-positive people, revealed that 14% of patients already carrying HIV at the start of the current relationship have never announced it to their main partner and 69% n have not informed their last casual partner.
“In terms of sexual behavior, people living with HIV use condoms more than in 2003 when they have sex with casual partners, but this use is far from systematic and condom use is less. frequent among stable couples than with occasional partners “, comments Patrick Yeni, President of the National AIDS Council in France, in an editorial.
“In total, 8.2% of people living with HIV can be considered at high risk of transmission from both a biomedical and behavioral point of view,” add Inserm researchers who conducted the survey.
Among the trends revealed by the researchers, nearly 12% of men living with HIV from sub-Saharan Africa have a risky practice. A trend that experts want to better understand by continuing their analyzes.
