Virus World

A study of hundreds of gay couples finds that HIV-positive men taking antiretroviral medication don't pass the virus to their partners, even when having unprotected sex. Researchers report that out of 782 gay male couples where one individual was HIV positive and receiving antiretroviral treatment, there was no HIV transmission to the HIV-negative partner from unprotected sex. “The risk of HIV transmission in gay couples through condomless sex when HIV viral load is suppressed is effectively zero,” the authors write in their report. “The PARTNER study has given us the confidence to say, without doubt, that people living with HIV who are on effective treatment cannot pass the virus on to their sexual partners,” Michael Brady, who is the medical director at Terrence Higgins Trust and was involved with recruitment for the studies. Experts say that wider access to testing and treatment is necessary to bring number of cases down.