Condoms and AIDS
Robert Doane (“Letters,” April/03) asserts that “dependence on the condom may be a principal factor in the spread of AIDS.” Condoms are a principal factor in the reduction of the spread of AIDS. According to the World Health Organization (http://www.who.int/reproductive-health/rtis/male_condom.html) the latest research has shown two things to be in evidence. First, the consistent use of male latex condoms significantly reduces the risk of HIV infection in men and women.... Second, laboratory studies have established the impermeability of male latex condoms to infectious agents contained in genital secretions, including the smallest viruses.

Mr. Doane’s facts about the size of voids in condoms may or may not be correct but his assertions about the effects of these “voids” seems to be completely refuted by the WHO. His assertion concerning dependence on the condom is also incorrect since HIV is also spread in ways besides sexual contact, for instance with IV drug use and the reuse of needles in health clinics (a major problem in third-world countries where clinics cannot afford to throw needles away after each use). HIV must be combated on all fronts; prevention, treatment, and research into a cure.

Noel Hertz
Chicago