A new study suggests that the virus that causes AIDS spreads rapidly through the head and neck areas after oral exposure, and may result in a greater number of infections than previously thought.
In this study, researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern at Dallas administered oral injections of SIV (the simian version of HIV) to rhesus monkeys, and found that the virus very quickly invaded all of the surrounding lymphoid tissue.
If the findings are confirmed, they will challenge the messages we impart about the relative safety of breastfeeding and oral sex.
For more information:
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas
http://www8.utsouthwestern.edu/utsw/cda/dept37389/files/197419.html
—Toyin Adeyemi
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