UNSW's Kirby Institute welcomes early results from the PARTNER study, which has found that HIV positive gay men who are on anti-retroviral treatment and have an undetectable viral load are not transmitting HIV to their partners.
The Kirby Institute at UNSW welcomes early results from the PARTNER study, which has found that HIV positive gay men who are on treatment and have undetectable viral load are not transmitting HIV to their partners.
Led by the University of Copenhagen, the PARTNER study examines the risk of sexual transmission when an HIV positive person is on treatment and when the couple have unprotected sex with each other. Results of the first two years of the study were presented at the Conferences on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Boston, USA.
“These exciting results directly demonstrating the efficacy of HIV treatment as prevention in gay men are very encouraging”, said UNSW Professor Andrew Grulich, Program Head at the Kirby Institute.
“However, I echo the cautious optimism expressed by the PARTNER team. It is important to note that although no new HIV infections were seen in early study results, HIV transmission could occur in up to one per cent of gay couples per year having unprotected anal sex."
Read the full story on the Kirby Institute website.