Only one-in-six men reported 100% condom use during three to four years of follow-up.

An analysis by Dawn Smith of the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported at the 20th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2013) on 4 March has provided the first estimate of the efficacy of condoms in preventing HIV transmission during anal sex since 1989. It found condoms stop seven out of ten anal transmissions – the same efficacy found by the 1989 study.

However, it also found that sometimes using condoms is not effective at preventing HIV infection, and that long-term 100% condom use is a minority behaviour: only one-in-six gay men actually managed to maintain it over the three- to four-year time frame of the analysis.

Mortality in people with HIV is continuing to fall, Swiss investigators report in HIV Medicine. The mortality rate in 2010 was a little over 1% and the majority of deaths were due to non-AIDS-related causes, many of which were associated with modifiable risk factors.

Effectiveness depends on regular screening for viral load rebounds & STI's. 

The British HIV Association (BHIVA) and the Department of Health's Expert Advisory Group on AIDS ( EAGA) published this week a position statement on the use of HIV treatment by people with HIV to reduce the risk of transmission.  For the first time, the document provides health professionals with a consensus statement, developed by UK experts, which can be used to guide discussions with individuals.  Clinicians, epidemiologists, policy experts and HIV-positive people contributed to the document. The key points are outlined below.

A Queensland Institute of Medical Research scientist has developed a way to use HIV to beat HIV in the laboratory.