Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1987. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
The Associated Press; Thursday, May 21,1987
While condoms probably reduce the risk of catching AIDS, they are no guarantee and the only truly safe sex is sex with an uninfected partner or masturbation, said the report published in today's New England Journal of Medicine.
"Sex with a prostitute may be riskier than sex with a neighbor," the report concludes, "but if neither has been tested for HIV, then neither can be considered truly safe."
The recommendations by Dr. James J. Goedert of the National Cancer Institute are among the most stringent yet for curbing the spread of HIV, the virus that causes acquired immune deficiency syndrome.
"HIV status is the single most important piece of information for use in planning the scope of one's sexual activities," he wrote.
In another development, the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists unanimously adopted a broadened definition of AIDS recommended by the national Centers for Disease Control. The new definition could increase the number of AIDS cases by 15 percent, the group said.
The new definition allows a doctor to classify an illness as AIDS without having to eliminate all other possible causes for an associated disease.
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