The headlines were borderline sensational. “Swiss study suggests condom use not necessary for some HIV positive patients.”

“Swiss study changes safe-sex message on HIV.”

“Patients on AIDS drugs don’t transmit virus.”

The headlines pertained to an appalling Swiss study regarding HIV and unprotected sex, which stirred controversy last week.

The inconclusive and irresponsible study stunned researchers worldwide. It claims that HIV-positive people with undetectable viral loads who are on an effective anti-retroviral treatment pose “no relevant risk” to transmitting HIV through unprotected sex.

The Swiss Federal Commission on HIV/AIDS issued the report Jan. 30. “Residual risk cannot be scientifically excluded, but is, in the judgment of the commission, negligibly small,” the commission concluded.

The study relied, in part, on a 1999 report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which said transmission depends strongly on the viral load in the blood.

The Swiss commission also reviewed other studies and engaged in prolonged conversation to arrive at its position. Studies in Spain, Brazil and Uganda reached similar conclusions.

Some media reports on the study, however, failed to mention that the Swiss commission based its findings, by and large, on four cases, each involving heterosexual couples engaging in vaginal sex. The study did not address concerns regarding anal sex.

Further, the study ignored what HIV/AIDS researchers know as fact: Viral loads can increase rapidly for a number of reasons, including illness, vaccinations and emergence of drug resistance, according to Dr. Robert J. Frascino, president and founder of the Robert J. Frascino AIDS Foundation.

Gay media, the Gay & Lesbian Times included, reported the item last week, but the study warrants scrutiny, and readers should heed warning.

“Not only is (the Swiss proposal) dangerous, it’s misleading and it is not considering the implications of the biological facts involved with HIV transmission,” said Jay Levy, director of the Laboratory for Tumor and AIDS Virus Research at the University of California in San Francisco, to the Associated Press last week.

With a rise in HIV cases worldwide, and with an increase of reported cases among the GLBT community, the Swiss study sends a dismaying message: that unprotected sex, even with a healthy, HIV-positive partner, isn’t risky.

In fact, the opposite is true. Absent from the study, aside from conclusive research on the risks of anal sex, is the risk of transmitting new sexually transmitted diseases during unprotected sex. Roger Peabody of the Terrence Higgins Trust AIDS Charity in London said the study does not cover “key issues,” including the spread of STDs. UNAIDS, the United Nations, and WHO tried to curb the study’s message, by recommending comprehensive HIV prevention approaches.

The study sends the wrong message, and, when taken out of context, poses a dangerous risk to the GLBT community. First, the study only addresses heterosexual couples and risks involved with vaginal sex. Second, it does not address the myriad health implications that accompany anti-retroviral treatment, or risks associated with unprotected sex. Lastly, it inadvertently (it would be astonishing if this were the commission’s intent) promotes unprotected sex and unprotected sex with HIV-positive people.

There are a number of people who lie about their HIV-positive status, and the Swiss commission’s study allows them some justification. An HIV-positive man, who is on a successful anti-retroviral treatment regimen and whose viral load is undetectable, may neglect to tell a sex partner about his status, thinking, as the study says, there is no relevant risk in engaging in unprotected sex.

The work of researchers warrants our support, particularly now on the cusp of progress in the war in HIV/AIDS. The Swiss commission’s study, however, is a step in the wrong direction.