Oral Sex AIDS Discrepancy Could Offer HIV Prevention Hope

'Good bugs' that help accidental bites of the tongue rapidly heal, could help prevent HIV transmission, according to researchers from Case Western Reserve University.

The school's top dental expert Dr Aaron Weinburg reportedly became curious about the fact that HIV is rarely contracted through the mouth and discovered that good bugs hbd2 and hbd43 (human epithelial Beta Defensins) multiply by a factor of 80 when placed in the presence of HIV, maintaining their extra-strength for 3 days (International AIDS Journal). He suggested products could be developed which could replicate the effect in other parts of the body, to create an effective barrier.

While the Doctor's research was prompted by his observation that HIV is passed on through oral sex relatively rarely compared to vaginal or anal sex, official medical advice still stressed that oral sex is by no means guaranteed safe.

"Oral sex with someone who is infected with HIV is certainly not risk free," say America's Center For Disease Control and Prevention on their website.

"Even a lower risk activity can become an important way people get infected if it is done often enough."
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