A Month of Abstinence

Aids scientists call for month of sex abstinence , reports the Guardian .  (Thanks to Worldwide Religious News for the link.)

Leading experts fighting the world’s worst Aids epidemic have called on African leaders to head a month-long sexual abstinence campaign, saying it could reduce new infections.

Researchers Alan Whiteside and Justin Parkhurst cite scientific evidence that due to ”viral-load spikes”, a newly infected person is most likely to transmit HIV in the month after they were exposed to it. Up to 45pc of HIV transmissions . . . .

Whiteside, of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, said: “This kind of initiative could provide hyper-endemic countries with a one-off, short-term adaptation that is cost-effective, easy to monitor and does not create additional stigma.”

Readers of Matthew Hanley’s Reducing Risk, Increasing AIDS will not be surprised. A month of abstinence is not as good as a life-time of chastity, but it’s still something.