Saturday, September 22, 2007

The Logic of Abstenance Campaigns to Prevent AIDS

Read "AIDS: Time to grow up", The Economist, September 20th 2007.

Subtitle: "'Abstinence only' education does not slow the spread of AIDS"

Lead:
"THERE can be no surer way of averting a sexually transmitted infection such as AIDS than avoiding sex. That much is obvious."
How about killing everyone? That would completely stop the spread of AIDS.

Actually, "sexually transmitted infection" is a general description, and STDs can be transmitted by other means than sex. Thus, HIV infection has been transmitted to many people by direct blood to blood transmission, as in the case of intravenous drug users, people infected by injections with used needles in other settings, and people who were transfused with HIV infected blood (before blood supplies were well policed). So, there are surer ways of averting sexually transmitted infection than avoiding sex.

I would also point out that there is no surer way of avoiding food poisoning than by fasting. There is no surer way of avoiding traffic accidents (that kill tens of thousands of Americans a year) than by staying home and never going out in the streets.

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