At the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in March 2014, a team of European researchers presented some exciting interim results from the Partner Study.
The interim findings show that after 2 years there are no cases of HIV transmission between couples where the positive partner has a viral load under 200 copies/ml. This was the case regardless of the type of sex (eg anal or vaginal sex).
When asked what the study tells us about the chance of someone with an undetectable viral load transmitting HIV, presenter Alison Rodger said: “Our best estimate is it’s zero.”
This study is important because it tackles a big question that emerged from the HPTN 052 study: Does HIV risk change depending on the kind of sex people have? Whereas HPTN052 focussed mainly on heterosexual couples, the Partner Study includes both gay and heterosexual couples.
More information is available on the AIDSMap website: http://aidsmap.com/No-one-with-an-undetectable-viral-load-gay-or-heterosexual-transmits-HIV-in-first-two-years-of-PARTNER-study/page/2832748
Does this make a difference to the way you feel about having a poz-neg (serodiscordant) relationship? Tell us what you think