ATLANTA, Aug 14 (Reuters Health) - Unprotected oral sex is highly unlikely to transmit HIV infection, according to findings from a small study released Tuesday.
In a study of mainly male participants who had performed oral sex on a male partner, researchers found that the risk of HIV transmission through this sex act was virtually nil. Dr. Kimberly Page-Shafer, of the University of California, San Francisco, presented the findings at the National HIV Prevention Conference here.
"We found that the probability of acquiring HIV through that specific sexual activity is very, very low," Page-Shafer said in a statement. However, she added, given the small study sample of 198 people, "we cannot rule out the possibility that the probability of infection is indeed greater than zero."
In fact, although oral sex poses a much lower HIV risk than unprotected anal or vaginal sex does, experts have stressed that oral sex does not equal safe sex. Recent studies in other populations have indicated that 6% to 8% of HIV cases may be attributed to oral sex.
