As reported today at the 21st Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, the multinational PARTNER study found zero HIV transmissions from condomless sex within mixed-HIV-status couples when the HIV-positive partner had his or her viral load suppressed below 200 copies/mL.
“It really is up to people themselves to judge if anything they do in life is ‘safe’ or ‘not safe,’” Lundgren stressed in the March 4 press conference. That said, these interim results have implications for legal issues around HIV, and for avoiding unnecessary use of post-exposure prophylaxis: If the HIV-positive partner has a fully suppressed viral load, Lundgren observed, “there is no reasonable legal action you could take against people who aren’t using condoms, and there’s really not a major concern if the condom breaks—and there’s certainly no indication for PEP.”
