"Provided they only had unprotected sex with each other, they would never
catch HIV."
Condoms have NOTHING to do with it. They are no protection against a
virus.
The 10-year Padian study observed sexually active
couples in which one partner was HIV positive. The result: in 10 years,
not one uninfected partner contracted HIV, even though all participants
admitted to having sex without condoms. The study states, 'We followed up
175
HIV-discordant couples over time, for a total of approximately 282
couple-years of follow up. The longest duration of follow-up was 12 visits
(6 years). We observed no seroconversion [infection] after entry into the
study." In the three-year Stewart study (1985) not one male partner of
HIV-positive women contracted HIV. Prostitution is not even listed as an
HIV risk category by the CDC, because of the extremely low incidence of
HIV transmission to clients who have no other risk factors (i.e. drug
abuse).
These findings bolster the hypothesis of some AIDS scientists that chronic
malnutrition and other environmental factors, and not a
sexually-transmitted virus, are the causes of weakened immunity in people
diagnosed with one of
the nearly 30 AIDS-defining diseases (which vary from country to
country).
______
THE SPERM VS. THE AIDS VIRUS
A paper in the February 1992 issue of Applied and Environmental
Microbiology reports that filtration techniques show the HIV-1 virus to be
0.1 micron (4 millionths of an inch) in diameter. It is three times
smaller than the herpes virus, 60 times smaller than the syphilis
spirochete, and 50 to 450 times smaller than sperm. (8)
THE FLAWED CONDOM
Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) researchers, using powerful electron
microscopes, have found that new latex, from which
condoms are fabricated, contains "maximum inherent flaw[s]" (that is,
holes) 70 microns in diameter. (9)
These holes are 700 times larger than the HIV-1 virus. There are pores in
latex, and some of the pores are large enough to pass sperm-sized
particles. Carey, et al., observed leakage of HIV-sized particles through
33%+ of the latex condoms tested. In addition, as Gordon points out in his
review, the testing procedures for condoms are less than desirable. United
States condom manufacturers are allowed 0.4% leaky condoms (AQL). Gordon
states, "The fluctuations in sampling permits many batches not meeting AQL
to be sold." In the United
States, 12% of domestic and 21% of imported batches of condoms have failed
to meet the 0.4% AQL. (10)
CONDOMS FAIL TESTING
In a 1988 study sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, Bruce
Voeller of the Mariposa Foundation in Topanga, California, a non-profit
organization dedicated to preventing the spread of sexually transmitted
diseases, ranked 31 brands of latex condoms according to how well they met
the U.S. and international quality assurance standards designed to ensure
that condoms provide an effective
barrier against human sperm.
"Many of the condoms now on the market would not get FDA approval if they
were required to meet today’s standards," says
Voeller. Although all condoms sold in the U.S.are supposed to pass quality
assurance tests, those marketed before 1976 need not meet the more
stringent requirements necessary to win FDA marketing approval. (11)
Dr. Collart reports that "Gotszche and Hording in their study of in vivo
[real life] condom failure rates concluded ‘Condoms to
prevent HIV transmission do not imply truly safe sex.’ In addition
Steiner, et al., observed newer lots of condoms had actual breakage rates
of 3.5-8.8%, while actual breakage rates for older lots ranged from
9.8-18.6%. In a study conducted by Ahmed, et al., 29%-42% of those who had
used condoms experienced at least one breakage. In a survey conducted by
the University of Manchester, 52% of those who had
obtained condoms from their family planning clinic had one or more either
burst or slip off in the 3 months before the survey. In
studies by Albert, et al., and by Wright, et al., 36% and 38% of their
respondents reported condom failures respectively." (12)
CONDOM + SPERMICIDE
Some have advocated the use of spermicide containing nonoxynol-9 in the
prevention of HIV infection. However, the protective effects of
nonoxynol-9 have not been established in vivo for any of the viral STDs.
Some reports suggest that spermicides (including nonoxynol-9) may be
associated with irritation and ulceration of genital and rectal epithelia,
side-effects that may actually facilitate HIV infection.
In a study with Nairobi prostitutes, a higher rate of new HIV infections
was found among women using nonoxynol-9 than among those not using it.
Additionally, in a study of rhesus monkeys who were exposed to a high dose
of simian immunodeficiency virus following vaginally inserted nonoxynol-9
foam, half the monkeys developed an infection. (13, 14, 15, 16)
CONDOM CLIMATE CONTROL
Condoms are sensitive to heat and cold, yet they are not normally
transported in climate-controlled vehicles. Vesey, in his study
ofcondoms,checked 72,000 trucks and has actual photographs of eggs frying
in the backs of trucks used for condom distribution.
Partly due to Vesey’s study, Burlington County, NJ, banned the
distribution of condoms at the county’s AIDS counselling center, because
they concluded that the risk of liability for condom failures was too
great. (17)
RISKY BUSINESS
The United States Public Health Service states that sexual
relations, even with a condom, with a person who is
HIV-positive is so risky that alternative methods of expressing physical
intimacy should be considered. Additionally, Public Health Services warns
that the rate of HIV transmission in anal intercourse is so high that the
practice should be avoided. (27)
PANACEA OR PLACEBO?
In conclusion, Herbert Ratner, M.D., offers the best summary of all when
he says,
Actually, the major accomplishment of the condom campaign to prevent AIDS
is to impress the promoters, politicians and the public at large that
something is being done; and although well-intentioned, it offers more of
a placebo than a panacea.
Publicizing the condom to the four winds is, for the most part, the
bravura of a puritan who is trying to prove to the world
that he is not a puritan. To concentrate on the mechanical aspects of the
sex act to the exclusion of the emotional and psychological aspects (which
the condom campaign ignores) is the essence of Puritanism. The only
difference between the new and the old is that whereas the traditional
puritans were alleged to believe that sex was something to be isolated and
repressed, neo-puritans accept sex as something to be isolated and
exercised. (28)
Reviewed by Joel McIlhaney, M.D., of the Medical Institute for Sexual
Health
NOTES
1.Weller, Susan C., "A Meta-Analysis of Condom Effectiveness in Reducing
Sexually Transmitted HIV," Social Science and
Medicine, Vol. 36, #12, June 1993, pp. 1635-1644.
2.Smith, Richard W., The Condom: Is It Really Safe Sex? (unpublished,
October 1990) pp. 8-9.
3.Collart, David G., M.D., Condom Failure for Protection From Sexual
Transmission of the HIV: A Review of the Medical
Literature, Feb. 16 1993.
4.Zenilman, Jonathan, et al., "Condom Use to Prevent Incident STDs: The
Validity of Self-Reported Condom Use," Sexually
Transmitted Diseases, Jan.-Feb. 1995, pp.15-21;
5.Ravenel S. duBose, M.D., "Comments and Observations," Aug. 5, 1995.
6.Joel McIlhaney, Jr., M.D., "Chlamydia Trachomatis; The Most Common
Bacterial Sexually Transmitted Disease in the United
States," Medical Institute for Sexual Health Sexual Health Update, Vol. 3,
#3, Fall, 1995.
7.Friedman and Trivelli, "Condom Availability for Youth: A High Risk
Alternative," Pediatrics, 2/97, p. 285.
8.Lytle, C. D., et al., "Filtration Sizes of Human Immunodeficiency Virus
Type 1 and Surrogate Viruses Used to Test Barrier
Materials," Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Vol. 58, #2, Feb.
1992.
9."Anomalous Fatigue Behavior in Polysoprene," Rubber Chemistry and
Technology, Vol. 62, #4, Sep.-Oct. 1989.
10.Collart, David G., M.D., loc. cit.
11.Nowak, Rachel, "Research Reveals Condom Conundrums," The Journal of NIH
Research, Vol. 5, Jan. 1993, pp. 32, 33.
12.Collart, David G., M.D., op. cit.
13.Bird, K.D., AIDS, Vol. 5, pp. 791-796, 1991.
14.Voeller, B., AIDS, Vol. 6, pp. 341-342, 1992.
15.Kreiss, J.; Ruminjo, I.; Ngugi, E.; Roberts, P.; Ndinya-Achola, J.; and
Plummer, F., 1989 V International Conference on AIDS,
Montreal.
16.Miller, C.J.; Alexander, N.J.; Sutjipto, S.; et al., J. Med. Primatol,
Vol. 19, pp. 401-409, 1990.
17.Vesey, W.B., HLI Reports, Vol. 9, pp. 1-4, 1991.
18.April, K., and Schreiner, W., Schweiz. med. Wschr., Vol. 120, pp.
972-978, 1990.
19.Frosner, G.G., 1989, Infection, Vol. 17, pp. 1-3.
20.Fischl, M.A.; Dickinson, G.M.; Segsl, A.; Flanagan, S.; and Rodriguez,
M.; Presentation THP. 92, III International Conference
on
AIDS in Washington D.C., 1-5 June, p. 178, 1987.
21.Klimes, I., et al., AIDS Care, Vol. 4, p. 151, 1992.
22.Detels, R.; English, P.; Visscher, B.R.; Jacobson, L.; Kingsley, L.A.;
Chmiel, J.S.; Dudley, J.P.; Eldred, L.J.; and Ginzburg,
H.M.;Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, Vol. 2, pp. 77-83,
1989.
23.Gordon, R., loc. cit.
24.Joffe, G.P.; Foxman, B.; Schmidt, A.J.; Farris, K.B.; Carter, R.J.;
Neumann, S.; Tolo, K.-A.; and Walters, A.M.; 1992, Sexually
Transmitted Diseases, Vol. 19, pp. 272-278.
25.Cohen, D.A.; Dent, C.; MacKinnon, D.; and Hahn, G.; Sexually
Transmitted Diseases, Vol. 19, pp. 245-251, 1992.
26.Frösner, G.G., loc. cit.
27.Byer, C.O., and Shainberg, L.W., Dimensions of Human Sexuality, Wm. C.
Brown Publishers, 1991.
28.Ratner, Herbert, M.D., "Condoms and AIDS," ALL About Issues, Feb. 1989,
p. 36.
