By Randy Dotinga
HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, July 12, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- HIV transmission is highly unlikely among straight couples who have sex without condoms when one partner carries the virus but takes medication, new research suggests.
For gay couples in the same scenario, the risk seems to be only slightly higher.
The Danish study had some major limitations. It only tracked couples for up to two years, and there's no way to know if the risk of HIV transmission will grow over time as couples age. Also, the HIV-positive participants were almost always careful to take their medication.
And at least one AIDS prevention expert expressed some caution about the study's conclusions.
Still, "it [the study's findings] is really great news for patients and their partners," said HIV specialist Dr. Jared Baeten, vice chair of global health at the University of Washington in Seattle. He was not involved with the study but is familiar with the findings.
"For so long, patients have really cared deeply about the chance they would transmit this virus to people they love. What's very reassuring about this study, and the bulk of information from other studies, is that people who have HIV and are on treatment appear to have an incredibly low chance of passing on the virus," Baeten said.
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