FALSEHOOD: HIV - nearly impossible to catch sexually

[Ian]

Sleeping with an HIV partner:
a woman has an estimated 0.1% chance of being infected
and a man 0.05%

So, according to the statistics, for a guy even if you slept with an HIV infected woman 1000 times, you would only have a 50% chance of catching it. That would be like having unprotected sex every day for nearly 3 years straight.

I thought a little perspective might be useful, seeing as how everyone is freaking out about the new retrovirus.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiv#Transmission

 

[Jemal]

Interesting. How come HIV has been spreading like wildfire in many African countries however?

 

[ukxmrv]

I'm not really sure how that would add "a little perspective". Many couples are having unprotected sex for years (if they are lucky etc...)

 

[Ian]

Oral sex performed on men has an even higher transmission ratio, I think.

The numbers say a 1 in 10,000 chance of catching it from oral sex. And for the man that is receiving, a 1 in 20,000 chance.

 

[dkesh]

Jemal: Read on to the next section. "For various reasons", the rates of infection per sexual act are much higher in low income countries.

 

[Ian]

With numbers like this with HIV, it's a wonder anybody catches it. It must be the most uninfectious agent ever discovered. You probably have a greater chance of winning the lottery then catching HIV. Flu on the other hand, one person in the house gets it, before long everyone gets it. Yet back to HIV, the magic virus, you can be HIV positive and not spread it to anyone, by kissing, sexually, promixity and have it for a decade before symptoms show (officially). Truely incredible. If you can't see something wrong with this picture ..

I just wonder what dangerous drugs they will try on CFS patients, to kill the new magic virus.

 

[Riley]

I believe the chances of transmission through anal sex are much higher. Hence the rapid spread in the gay community in the 80's. Also, I've read that their are now strains that are much more infectious emerging in different parts of the world.

 

[SOC]

Thanks, CBS. I knew something wasn't right, just wish I'd done a better job of my research.

I'll gladly delete my posts. I agree that this thread is uninformed, misleading, and downright dangerous.

 

[citybug]

The Wiki data are for overall risk with any partner, not just risk with HIV+ partners!

Misinterpretation of data and posts such as this, declaring that HIV is nearly impossible to transmit is going to get someone killed! Think about it.
However, for our analysis, if the serostatus of a partner was unknown, we assumed the probability this partner was infected would be equal to the HIV prevalence in the community. We further assumed this prevalence would be 10% for men who have sex with men and 1% for heterosexuals attending HIV/STD clinics. If a partner had tested positive for HIV, we assumed the test algorithm had no false-positives and that the partner was HIV-infected. .

Thank you CBS for clarifying this. This is just playing with statistics, not a study of people catching it. The prevalence in the community will vary greatly (what if your community is one positive person?)

A moderator should at least change the title of this thread. No one wants to spread bad information.

 

[Martlet]

Closing this topic

I am closing this topic as some of the views expressed are totally wrong, statistically, and are outright dangerous. HIV is readily transmitted sexually and any suggestion otherwise is misleading and, if believed by any readers, could lead to the loss of their health and possibly even their lives.