Condoms not effective in preventing HIV?
Dear Dr. Donya,
I have just read your article in The Jakarta Post about teenagers and STDs. I am doing sociocultural research into HIV/AIDS awareness in regard to actual sex practices and sexual behavior in Banda, Maluku.
I note that you say a latex condom does not protect against AIDS. This is against all current thinking throughout the medical and social world. Condoms are rejected in certain parts of the world not because they do not protect but because they are against certain religious thought which feels that sexual abstinence would be the only message for prevention.
The people who are at risk are those who do not practice abstinence already and probably will continue in this way because they do not see HIV as an immediate threat. They need to use condoms. The message your article gives to teenagers appears very contrary and confusing.
- Dr. Agnes Westwater
Dear Dr. Westwater
I am pleased to see I have your readership and I thank you for your participation. I do understand and agree with you that the message does seem a bit contradictory in that in one paragraph I state that the use of a condom is highly recommended, then in the next paragraph I say that a condom does not prevent the transmission of HIV/AIDS. My husband also had the same question.
The best way to answer your question is to refer to the information distributed by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In the information offered for frequently asked questions about the transmission of HIV/AIDS, CDC states that HIV can enter the body through mucous membranes e.g. eyes or inside the nose and mouth. Later in the report it states that research has shown the effectiveness of latex condoms used on the penis to prevent the transmission of HIV.
Condoms are not risk-free, but they greatly reduce the risk of infection if your partner is HIV positive. The CDC even goes as far as to say that under the right conditions prolonged kissing has shown to transmit HIV. I appreciate your question and this opportunity to clarify any confusion I may have created.
My own experience has been to participate in a long-term study concerning the transmission of HIV/AIDS from mother to child among sex workers in Thailand. I have also worked in the high tourist areas and have consulted with HIV infected people who swore they used a condom. For these reason I stated that the only true prevention is abstinence. I hope this answer is more satisfying. Thanks.
- Dr. Donya