By Abraham V. Llera
In her “Why the big fuss about condoms?” on her “Analysis by Winnie Monsod” on” News on Q” on March 22, 2010, Solita Monsod made a number of points in favor of condoms as the solution to the rise in HIV new infections in the country.
Monsod: New HIV infections in the Philippines have increased, whereas globally , new HIV infections have , in fact, decreased by 17 percent, a fact, which is probably the basis for Sec Cabral’s worry, and which should be the worry for the rest of us too.
Llera: In the above , Monsod SUGGESTS that, since new HIV/AIDS infections elsewhere have gone down while ours in the Philippines have gone up, there must be something we are not doing right. Inasmuch as condom use is not as widespread in the Philippines as it is elsewhere in the world, our not using condoms is what’s causing the rise in our HIV/AIDS new infections.
This is sloppy work for a journalist especially one who has a national audience. All it’ll take is a little imagination to see that Monsod’s conclusion not only misses the point entirely, but offers as the cure something which is the cause of the problem.
Of the 2.7 M new infections in 2008 as recorded by UNAIDS, 1.9 M or 70 percent is accounted for by Sub-African Sahara, meaning that, if there has been a decrease in new HIV infections, half of the decrease is accounted for by Sub-African Sahara ALONE.
Now let me ask. Of all the countries in the Sub-Saharan Africa which has shown the most decrease in new HIV infections? Isn’t it Uganda? And how did Uganda did it? Isn’t it by abstinence?
Monsod: There are no studies more recent than the WHO study in 2000 or the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health in 1999.
Llera: In 2008 The Swiss Federal Commission for HIV/AIDS published the findings of four studies showing that couples may have “unprotected sex” so long as the HIV infected partner take ARV therapy as that will block the passing on of the virus. This was met by an immediate howl of protest from HIV/AIDS groups who questioned the fact that the study limited itself to heterosexual couples. Anal sex, these groups claim, pose special problems which vaginal sex don’t have. Condom failure is that much higher in anuses than in vaginas, forcing UNAIDS and WHO to issue statements to the effect that condoms were still the safest protection against HIV.
Monsod: There are no studies more recent than 2000 because the issue of condom effectiveness has been resolved a long time ago.
Llera: From the above, and from the experience of Thailand which is reeling from a resurgence of AIDS, condom effectiveness is far from a resolved issue. In fact, and I’d like to ask Solita Monsod to ask Ms Monsod: isn’t it precisely condom use which is causing the increase in new HUV infections? Condoms, by promising “safe sex” has transformed Thailand’s youth into sexually-crazed creatures, ready to do sex at the drop of a hat and at an early age.
Monsod: The WHO Fact Sheet No 243 states: “ Laboratory studies have found that viruses (including HIV) do not pass through intact latex condoms even when the devices are stretched or stressed. “
Llera: In a 1998 article, C.M. Roland of the Naval Research Laboratory Chemistry Division and M.J. Schroeder of the U.S. Naval Academy Department of Chemistry said: “The defining feature of viruses is their diminutive size. For example the AIDS virus is only 0.15 microns, and the Hepatitis B virus is even smaller. Given the presence in rubber of intrinsic defects two magnitudes of order larger in size , the ability of a condom or a surgical glove to percent transmissi0n of viral particles is problematic.”
Moreover, we should remember that stretching applies only one type of stress: uniform lateral stress, the other four types of stress applied to a condom in use are not included. These are “the pressure stress (perpendicular to the axis of the later stress) ; shear stress (high twisting or angular stresses at critical points); friction stress (abrasion stress during lateral movement between two surfaces in contact); and corrosion stress caused by a mixture of body fluids and lubricants , whose effect is greatly enhanced by the repeated and simultaneous application of mechanical stresses.” (Credit: Brian Clowes)
And look at what the U.S. National Institutes of Health says: scientific evidence does not support condom use as a means to prevent infections of genital herpes (HSV) [page 20]; human papillomavirus (HPV) [page 26]; Chlamydia [page 17]; syphilis [page 23]; canchroid [page 21]; trichomonas [page 18].
Monsod: In Thailand, the promotion by the government of 100 percent condom use by commercial sex workers led to a dramatic decline in STD cases from 410,406 in 1987 to 27,362 in 1994.
Llera: Monsod is not being very honest here: she’s using old figures. The truth is, Thailand is now reeling under a resurgence of HIV infections. Go check it out on the Internet.
Monsod: Johns Hopkins: “Consistent condom use protected against HIV.”
Llera: In the above, Monsod is suggesting that condoms guarantee safety against STDs. But here’s what the National Institutes Of Health says in its Workshop Summary: Scientific Evidence for Condom Effectiveness for Sexually Transmitted Disease Prevention page 14: ”consistent condom use decreased the risk of HIV/AIDS transmission by approximately 85%.“
Monsod’s in effect saying: “Let the 15 percent die, 85 percent will live anyway.”
In her “Why the big fuss about condoms?” on her “Analysis by Winnie Monsod” on” News on Q” on March 22, 2010, Solita Monsod made a number of points in favor of condoms as the solution to the rise in HIV new infections in the country.
Monsod: New HIV infections in the Philippines have increased, whereas globally , new HIV infections have , in fact, decreased by 17 percent, a fact, which is probably the basis for Sec Cabral’s worry, and which should be the worry for the rest of us too.
Llera: In the above , Monsod SUGGESTS that, since new HIV/AIDS infections elsewhere have gone down while ours in the Philippines have gone up, there must be something we are not doing right. Inasmuch as condom use is not as widespread in the Philippines as it is elsewhere in the world, our not using condoms is what’s causing the rise in our HIV/AIDS new infections.
This is sloppy work for a journalist especially one who has a national audience. All it’ll take is a little imagination to see that Monsod’s conclusion not only misses the point entirely, but offers as the cure something which is the cause of the problem.
Of the 2.7 M new infections in 2008 as recorded by UNAIDS, 1.9 M or 70 percent is accounted for by Sub-African Sahara, meaning that, if there has been a decrease in new HIV infections, half of the decrease is accounted for by Sub-African Sahara ALONE.
Now let me ask. Of all the countries in the Sub-Saharan Africa which has shown the most decrease in new HIV infections? Isn’t it Uganda? And how did Uganda did it? Isn’t it by abstinence?
Monsod: There are no studies more recent than the WHO study in 2000 or the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health in 1999.
Llera: In 2008 The Swiss Federal Commission for HIV/AIDS published the findings of four studies showing that couples may have “unprotected sex” so long as the HIV infected partner take ARV therapy as that will block the passing on of the virus. This was met by an immediate howl of protest from HIV/AIDS groups who questioned the fact that the study limited itself to heterosexual couples. Anal sex, these groups claim, pose special problems which vaginal sex don’t have. Condom failure is that much higher in anuses than in vaginas, forcing UNAIDS and WHO to issue statements to the effect that condoms were still the safest protection against HIV.
Monsod: There are no studies more recent than 2000 because the issue of condom effectiveness has been resolved a long time ago.
Llera: From the above, and from the experience of Thailand which is reeling from a resurgence of AIDS, condom effectiveness is far from a resolved issue. In fact, and I’d like to ask Solita Monsod to ask Ms Monsod: isn’t it precisely condom use which is causing the increase in new HUV infections? Condoms, by promising “safe sex” has transformed Thailand’s youth into sexually-crazed creatures, ready to do sex at the drop of a hat and at an early age.
Monsod: The WHO Fact Sheet No 243 states: “ Laboratory studies have found that viruses (including HIV) do not pass through intact latex condoms even when the devices are stretched or stressed. “
Llera: In a 1998 article, C.M. Roland of the Naval Research Laboratory Chemistry Division and M.J. Schroeder of the U.S. Naval Academy Department of Chemistry said: “The defining feature of viruses is their diminutive size. For example the AIDS virus is only 0.15 microns, and the Hepatitis B virus is even smaller. Given the presence in rubber of intrinsic defects two magnitudes of order larger in size , the ability of a condom or a surgical glove to percent transmissi0n of viral particles is problematic.”
Moreover, we should remember that stretching applies only one type of stress: uniform lateral stress, the other four types of stress applied to a condom in use are not included. These are “the pressure stress (perpendicular to the axis of the later stress) ; shear stress (high twisting or angular stresses at critical points); friction stress (abrasion stress during lateral movement between two surfaces in contact); and corrosion stress caused by a mixture of body fluids and lubricants , whose effect is greatly enhanced by the repeated and simultaneous application of mechanical stresses.” (Credit: Brian Clowes)
And look at what the U.S. National Institutes of Health says: scientific evidence does not support condom use as a means to prevent infections of genital herpes (HSV) [page 20]; human papillomavirus (HPV) [page 26]; Chlamydia [page 17]; syphilis [page 23]; canchroid [page 21]; trichomonas [page 18].
Monsod: In Thailand, the promotion by the government of 100 percent condom use by commercial sex workers led to a dramatic decline in STD cases from 410,406 in 1987 to 27,362 in 1994.
Llera: Monsod is not being very honest here: she’s using old figures. The truth is, Thailand is now reeling under a resurgence of HIV infections. Go check it out on the Internet.
Monsod: Johns Hopkins: “Consistent condom use protected against HIV.”
Llera: In the above, Monsod is suggesting that condoms guarantee safety against STDs. But here’s what the National Institutes Of Health says in its Workshop Summary: Scientific Evidence for Condom Effectiveness for Sexually Transmitted Disease Prevention page 14: ”consistent condom use decreased the risk of HIV/AIDS transmission by approximately 85%.“
Monsod’s in effect saying: “Let the 15 percent die, 85 percent will live anyway.”
