HIV Transmission: 1 in 900 Sex Acts Transmits Virus - Yahoo! News:
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A heterosexual person infected with HIV will transmit the virus to their partner once in every 900 times the couple has unprotected sex, according to a new study conducted in Africa.
However, the exact number of sexual acts that are needed to transmit the virus can vary tremendously depending on the amount of the virus in the infected person's blood, said study researcher James Hughes, of the University of Washington in Seattle.
In fact, the amount of virus in the blood is the single most important factor in determining whether HIV is passed between sexual partners, the study found. For every tenfold increase in the concentration, there is about a threefold increase in the risk of transmission during a single sexual act.
People with very high blood concentrations of the virus (such as those who very recently acquired the infection) may need to have sex only 10 times to transmit the virus, Hughes said. "The average can be a little deceptive," Hughes said.
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