Document Type
Brief
Publication Date
2007
Abstract
As a result of the success of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in dramatically decreasing morbidity and mortality due to HIV, many HIV-infected individuals are now living longer, healthier, and more sexually active lives. However, unprotected sex by people living with HIV is an area of concern because of the risk of transmission to sero-discordant partners and reinfection with new, drug-resistant viral strains. There is evidence to suggest that some sero-positive individuals continue to engage in unprotected sex that places others at risk for infection and places themselves at risk for contracting secondary infections. To learn more about the impact of ART on sexual risk behavior in a developing country setting, researchers from the Horizons Program and the International Center for Reproductive Health followed a cohort of HIV-positive individuals receiving ART for 12 months in Mombasa, Kenya. The study revealed no increase in unsafe sex. However, there remained a risk of HIV transmission as a result of unprotected sex with an HIV-negative or unknown status partner. As indicated in this brief, safer-sex counseling needs special emphasis in ART programs.
Recommended Citation
Luchters, Stanley, Avina Sarna, Scott Geibel, Matthew F. Chersich, Paul Munyao, Susan Kaai, Kishorchandra N. Mandaliya, Naomi Rutenberg, and Marleen Temmerman. 2007. "Sexual risk behaviors of HIV-positive persons receiving ART in Mombasa, Kenya: Longitudinal study findings," Horizons Research Summary. Nairobi: Population Council.
DOI
10.31899/hiv12.1037
Language
English
Project
Horizons Program
Included in
Demography, Population, and Ecology Commons, Family, Life Course, and Society Commons, International Public Health Commons, Medicine and Health Commons