Couples in which one partner is HIV-positive have a low risk of transmitting the disease if the infected partner is on antiretroviral drugs, a new study found, even if they are not using condoms.
Scientist have been studying for decades whether HIV-positive individuals who take certain combinations of drugs, called antiretroviral therapy (ART), will infect their partners with the virus. A landmark study, which mostly enrolled heterosexual couples, found that ART taken by infected individuals reduced the risk of HIV transmission by 96 percent.
But many of the people in that study also wore condoms, which can help prevent HIV. So it remained unclear how effective the drugs are on their own, and whether the results also applied in homosexual couples.
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