A group of Swiss researchers may be sending some pretty mixed messages when it comes to AIDS prevention. It seems that this group of researchers has concluded that patients that are using retroviral drugs do not need to worry about using a condom because they cannot pass on the AIDS virus to their partners. We are definitely on board with UNAIDS and the World Health Organization. When it comes to AIDS prevention, you certainly don’t want to take unnecessary risks. Nonetheless, we feel it is equally important to educate our readers about the latest research.

According to the report, which was published by Switzerland’s Federal AIDS Commission, couples do not need to worry about wearing condoms if just one partner is HIV positive and is utilizing retroviral therapy. In order to be considered safe, the affected partner needs to be consistently following the therapy and must demonstrate that the virus has been successfully suppressed in the blood for a minimum of six months. Aside from the fact that this research is a smack in the face against current AIDS prevention campaigns, there are also some flaws in the research. First of all, the research focused solely on heterosexual couples and did not consider forms of sex other than vaginal intercourse. In addition to using condoms for AIDS prevention, there are other steps you can take in order to prevent becoming infected. First, remaining in a monogamous relationship can severely reduce your chances of getting infected. If this is not possible for you, try to keep your sexual partners to a minimum. Another key to AIDS prevention is to get yourself tested on a regular basis. This is a particularly important part of AIDS prevention if you lead a very sexual life and engage in sexual activity with many different partners. After all, the primary method of AIDS prevention is to keep the disease from spreading. Of course, with the help of condoms, you will also severely reduce the risk of getting AIDS or passing it on to others.

With AIDS prevalence and incidence still high in some parts of the world and still a public health concern in the U.S., there’s no arguing that more effective AIDS prevention programs are still needed to be designed and implemented. Over 150 Americans are diagnosed with HIV every day. Foremost in the fight in AIDS prevention is raising awareness on this disease through proper sex education. The problem with most sex education curricula implemented in schools is its discordance with what the youth would need to know. Most teachers, policy makers, and concern parents still think that AIDS education is something beyond the scope of young mentality, that teenage students are not ‘adult’ or ‘old’ enough to understand what this disease is and on the importance of AIDS prevention.

An effective AIDS prevention program hinges not only on a single behavior, method or use of devices. As young children turn into teenagers and young adults, they must be armed with sufficient information that would enable them to make enlightened decisions. They must know that there are different options available out there to protect themselves, such as condoms and other contraceptives, and it is within their rights to use them. Sure, abstinence and fidelity would probably be the most ideal way to go, but modern society, with its changing norms and influences, often render those options impractical. They must be given a chance to explore other possibilities, and know that contraceptives, when used with free choice and proper knowledge, are not bad things after all. To better understand the concept of AIDS prevention and practice of safe sex would also serve to drive home the fact that STDs, particularly the HIV virus, is out there and may catch the unwary and the unprotected.