HC Deb 01 July 1992 vol 210 cc632-3W
Mr. Cohen

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice her Department's chief medical officer has given the public about sexual activity involving an individual suffering with HIV or AIDS; what is the latest estimate of the risk of contracting the disease when a condom is(a) used and (b) not used; and if she will make a statement.

Mr. Sackville

Data are available from the results of "The European Study Group on Heterosexual Transmission of HIV", published in March 1992, a copy of which is available in the Library. Couples where one partner was already infected with HIV were followed up six-monthly. Among 44 couples using condoms intermittently, six women were infected with HIV. No partners were infected in 24 couples using condoms consistently.

The AIDS public education campaign has encouraged the use of condoms as a means of protection against HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.