Month-Long Sex Ban Could Cut New HIV Infections by 45%

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By Shamsydeen Badmus

Published: July 8, 2010

 

Month-Long Sex Ban Could Cut New HIV Infections by 45%

By Shamsydeen Badmus

A month-long sexual abstinence campaign in Africa could reduce new HIV infections by up to 45 per cent, according to researchers. As reported in the UK newspaper The Guardian’s website on Sunday, two leading epidemiologists claim the initiative could break the cycle of infection in hyper-endemic countries. Alan Whiteside and Justin Parkhurst have called on African leaders to consider the campaign, according to The Guardian. The scientists noted existing evidence that newly infected people are most likely to transmit HIV in the month after being exposed to it. The use of condoms could also be as effective as the month-long sex ban, the scientists said. The scientists focused their research on religious groups, including Muslims who abstain from sex during Ramadan, and Zimbabwe’s Marange Apostolic sect, which bans sex during Passover.

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