Leonard.Levin@f140.n150.z1.fidonet.org (Leonard Levin) (10/03/89)
I'm not so sure that HIV transmission through oral secretions is such a "dead
issue." A notable omission from your list of references is a paper published
as recently as last year at the Fourth International Conference on AIDS, in
Stockholm, in which Willy Rozenbaum (Poster 4562) reported two cases of
patients infected with the AIDS virus whose only risk factor was passive
fellatio. This finding suggests that saliva can indeed serve as a vector for
HIV transmission. Nothwithstanding this finding, I point out that the latest
statistics from the Centers for Disease Control report 400 cases of AIDS for
whom, even after follow-up interviews, no risk factor could be identified.
Therefore, to rule out oral sex as a risky behavior appears to me to be
premature. While I would acknowledge that transmission by the oral route may
be relatively rare, to classify oral sex as "probably safe" seems misleading
and dangerous to the uninfected public. Given the lethal nature of this
disease, I think being overly cautious is more prudent than taking unnecessary
risks.
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Uucp: ...{gatech,ames,rutgers}!ncar!noao!asuvax!stjhmc!150!140!Leonard.Levin
Internet: Leonard.Levin@f140.n150.z1.fidonet.orgPatrick.Harkin@f64.n255.z2.fidonet.org (Patrick Harkin) (10/08/89)
I'm replying to this 'at the keyboard' so I can't provide an accurate reference
but the was a paper in The Lancet some time in the last 18 months describing
HIV transmission by fellatio. As a pathologist, I find it difficult to accept
fellatio as safe - the back of the throat is *designed* to grab antigens from
swallowed material. That's what tonsils are for, after all! Still, even the
Lancet study could only get three cases, so absolute risks must be minimal.
regards
Pat Harkin
PS The lancet has also report a case of conception via fellatio. The woman
(who had an imperforate vagina) was caught in flagrante by her other
boyfriend, and was stabbed in the abdomen. Perforation of the stomach allowed
viable sperm into the peritoneum, and that's a standard site for some assisted
conception techniques. Looks like anything is possible...........
--
Uucp: ...{gatech,ames,rutgers}!ncar!noao!asuvax!stjhmc!2!255!64!Patrick.Harkin
Internet: Patrick.Harkin@f64.n255.z2.fidonet.orgPatrick.Harkin@f64.n255.z2.fidonet.org (Patrick Harkin) (10/08/89)
I'm replying to this 'at the keyboard' so I can't provide an accurate reference
but the was a paper in The Lancet some time in the last 18 months describing
HIV transmission by fellatio. As a pathologist, I find it difficult to accept
fellatio as safe - the back of the throat is *designed* to grab antigens from
swallowed material. That's what tonsils are for, after all! Still, even the
Lancet study could only get three cases, so absolute risks must be minimal.
regards
Pat Harkin
PS The lancet has also report a case of conception via fellatio. The woman
(who had an imperforate vagina) was caught in flagrante by her other
boyfriend, and was stabbed in the abdomen. Perforation of the stomach allowed
viable sperm into the peritoneum, and that's a standard site for some assisted
conception techniques. Looks like anything is possible...........
--
Uucp: ...{gatech,ames,rutgers}!ncar!noao!asuvax!stjhmc!2!255!64!Patrick.Harkin
Internet: Patrick.Harkin@f64.n255.z2.fidonet.org