3 of 4 in Study Hide HIV Status; Casual Sex Partners Often Left Unaware

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2003. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

3 of 4 in Study Hide HIV Status; Casual Sex Partners Often Left Unaware

Times-Picayune (New Orleans) (09.16.03) - Wednesday, October 15, 2003
John Pope

Scientists at Tulane University's School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine and CDC found that roughly three out of four people with HIV hide the fact from casual sex partners. By keeping quiet about their infections, they are putting many people at risk of contracting HIV, the researchers wrote.

"It's really scary because so many of them have casual sex partners, and that's what's propelling the spread of the epidemic," said Patricia Kissinger, a Tulane University associate professor of epidemiology and the study's senior author. She said study participants were not asked whether they used condoms or practiced other safe sex measures, but past research has indicated that most do not. Investigators learned, however, that most participants would tell their principal sex partners they had HIV.

In interviews with 269 people at two New Orleans STD clinics, researchers found that 18- to 22-year-olds were the least likely to divulge HIV status. Of 91 people in that age group, "three individuals estimated that they had more than 100 partners (each) since their diagnosis and the remaining 88 individuals reported a total of 184 partners, suggesting a significant potential for HIV transmission," according to the report.

Researchers did not ask why people did not inform partners of their HIV status. Kissinger said previous studies have suggested several reasons including lack of a sense of responsibility, fear that the other person would end the relationship, and fear of retaliation. From analysis of their data, researchers concluded that infected people are continuing to have sex longer because of improved treatments.

"If three out of four people don't tell their partners, this certainly points to the need for partner counseling and referral services," said Lisa Longfellow, manager of the STD program in the Louisiana Office of Public Health. She said the findings also underscore the importance of CDC's decision to work more with HIV-infected people to keep the disease from spreading. Uninfected persons should use condoms with all sex partners and not assume that HIV-infected individuals will disclose their status, the researchers wrote.

The study, "Prevalence and Correlates of HIV Serostatus Disclosure," appeared in the journal Sexually Transmitted Diseases (2003;30(9):731-735).
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