Sullivan on the Barebacking Story

Christopher Rhoades Dÿkema crdbronx at erols.com
Fri Jun 1 06:47:50 PDT 2001


This is really a medical question. Maybe some of the physicians among us can clarify.

Justin Schwartz wrote:


> Why is it unsafe for him to have unprotected sex with the HIV positive?

To the extent I understand this -- from hanging around a lot of doctors -- there are two issues of infection. One proposition I have heard is that even if a person is HIV+ there are various strains of the virus and that exposure to multiple strains might further damage the immune system.

The other is that one may be harboring opportunistic infections that are still latent, and might transmit them through unprotected sex.

Can someone clarify these issues, or others that may be medically relevant?

Christopher Rhoades Dÿkema



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