Essential to wear condom, even for oral sex

[fountainhall]

Just by the nature of the HIV virus, the likelihood that it could be passed from person to person through oral sex, kissing or anything involving the mouth is unlikely.

The key word here is surely "unlikely" - meaning not impossible but highly improbable if you take the necessary precautions. The US Centers for Disease Control says this about oral sex amongst msm –

• The risk of HIV transmission through oral sex is much less than that from anal or vaginal sex—but it is not zero.
• Performing oral sex on an HIV-infected man, with ejaculation in the mouth, is the riskiest oral sex activity.
• Factors that may increase the risk of HIV transmission through oral sex are oral ulcers, bleeding gums, genital sores, and the presence of other sexually transmitted diseases.

So, leaving aside the possibility of being infected with other nasty STDs, having an HIV+ guy ejaculate in your mouth is the riskiest oral sex activity. But we will rarely if ever know if that cute guy we are with is HIV+ or not – and if he knows, it is unlikely he will tell us.

The AVERT organisation also provides some recent facts about Thailand –

• 90% of new adult infections are transmitted via unprotected sex.
• Of all new infections, 41% were among msm, male sex workers and transgender people.
• in Bangkok, HIV prevalence (amongst msm) was 24.4% compared to the national HIV prevalence of 7% for this population across all of Thailand.
• Surveys show that people under the age of 25 have lower levels of HIV knowledge and HIV testing and counselling than those over age 25.

The fourth point is surely illustrated by the low level of condom usage in many of the relatively new saunas away from the centre of the city aimed at younger Thais for Thais.

Taking risks is part of all our lives. The problem with msn sex here in Thailand - as I am sure is true in some other countries - is that too many of the guys we are likely to meet (younger Thais, Vietnamese, Lao, Cambodians, Burmese etc.) are just not fully aware of the risks, and at least some of the tourists with whom they will have sex openly advertise they seek partners for very risky sexual behaviour. And that of course increases the risk for all the future partners of those guys. But we are not monks and this is Thailand - so we just have to protect ourselves as best we can.

http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/risk/oralsex.html
http://www.avert.org/professionals/h...cific/thailand