# Is HIV a danger for people with only 1 sex partner? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 14, 2012, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hiv-a-danger-for-people-with-only-1-sex-partner/631449 "2012-08-14T08:30:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hiv-a-danger-for-people-with-only-1-sex-partner/631449/1 "2012-08-14T08:30:21Z")
I read that the Pope has ended the Catholic ban on condoms because of AIDS (eg [Pope Embraces ABC to Fight AIDS | Wesley J. Smith | First Things](http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/secondhandsmoke/2012/08/09/pope-embraces-abc-to-fight-aids/) ) Isn’t HIV only a risk if people have multiple partners? Or does the Catholic Church allow fornication? ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hiv-a-danger-for-people-with-only-1-sex-partner/631449/2 "2012-08-14T08:36:31Z")
Well, certainly your partner could get HIV from blood transfer. And you can’t rule out them having gotten HIV from a previous partner (we’ll assume they’re good Catholics and were married). But in general, yes, you’re statistically very unlikely to get HIV unless you’ve been sleeping around (or sharing needles I guess). However, I assume this is more a matter of finding an excuse to officially allow what most Catholics already use and support than it is a realistic allowance due to a fair risk assessment assuming hypothetical “perfect Catholic conduct.” ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hiv-a-danger-for-people-with-only-1-sex-partner/631449/3 "2012-08-14T09:24:33Z")
Sometimes someone with HIV meets someone else who doesn’t have HIV. Sometimes the positive person and the negative person fall in love. Sometimes they even get married. It’s prudent for the couple to use a condom so the negative person doesn’t contract HIV. It’s situations like this where condom use is condoned, among others already mentioned. Thinking the Church is condoning fornication is a bit shortsighted. ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hiv-a-danger-for-people-with-only-1-sex-partner/631449/4 "2012-08-14T10:01:22Z")
For people who have an HIV positive partner, [Truvada](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truvada) has been approved by the FDA as a prophylactic (for preventing HIV infection). However, the effectiveness is not complete, and retaining condoms as an additional measure seems appropriate (unless pregnancy is the aim of the sexual contact). Si ---
**Author:** ![Charmbrights](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@Charmbrights](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charmbrights)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hiv-a-danger-for-people-with-only-1-sex-partner/631449/5 "2012-08-14T12:18:55Z")
Put simply, a couple who have only ever had sex with each other are extremely unlikely to contract HIV, though it is possible from blood transfusions. ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hiv-a-danger-for-people-with-only-1-sex-partner/631449/6 "2012-08-14T12:32:37Z")
> [@SeaDragonTattoo](#): > > Sometimes someone with HIV meets someone else who doesn’t have HIV. Sometimes the positive person and the negative person fall in love. Sometimes they even get married. It’s prudent for the couple to use a condom so the negative person doesn’t contract HIV. It’s situations like this where condom use is condoned, among others already mentioned. > > Thinking the Church is condoning fornication is a bit shortsighted. And these situations are common enough for the church to change its stance? I see no mention that condoms are only to be used in certain situations. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hiv-a-danger-for-people-with-only-1-sex-partner/631449/7 "2012-08-14T12:39:40Z")
It is almost (not entirely, but almost) impossible to get HIV from a blood transfusion in the US today. Blood is tested quite thoroughly, and that’s after pre-screening donors for high risk behaviors. Injected drug use is another story. Lots of people still get HIV sharing needles or cotton balls or other “flash”, and if your single sex partner is, unbeknownst to you, an injected drug user, then you’re in danger, yes. It’s also possible to contract HIV from sharing personal care items which may come into contact with blood and open skin, like razors. While the risk is much lower than for unprotected sex, it’s higher than for a blood transfusion. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hiv-a-danger-for-people-with-only-1-sex-partner/631449/8 "2012-08-14T12:51:30Z")
In what way would allowing of condom use possibly constitute an endorsement of fornication? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hiv-a-danger-for-people-with-only-1-sex-partner/631449/9 "2012-08-14T12:56:52Z")
> [@AaronX](#): > > I read that the Pope has ended the Catholic ban on condoms because of AIDS (eg [http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/secondhandsmoke/2012/08/09/pope-embraces-abc-to-fight-aids/](http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/secondhandsmoke/2012/08/09/pope-embraces-abc-to-fight-aids/) ) > > Isn’t HIV only a risk if people have multiple partners? Or does the Catholic Church allow fornication? If Carmen only has one sex partner, but Carmen’s sex partner had other partners, Carmen can get any STD her partner got from other partners. “Having only one sex partner” works as an STD deterrent only if both partners never have another one and if the disease in question cannot be transmitted by any other means. > [@WhyNot](#): > > It is almost (not entirely, but almost) impossible to get HIV from a blood transfusion in the US today. The RCC ban didn’t apply only to the US, though. ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hiv-a-danger-for-people-with-only-1-sex-partner/631449/10 "2012-08-14T13:44:35Z")
You may have only one sex partner, but how many does your partner have? Only one? Are you SURE? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hiv-a-danger-for-people-with-only-1-sex-partner/631449/11 "2012-08-14T13:46:13Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > In what way would allowing of condom use possibly constitute an endorsement of fornication? Yeah, that was covered above by SeaDragon and others. It doesn’t. ---
**Author:** ![xnylder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/bbce88/32.png) [@xnylder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xnylder)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hiv-a-danger-for-people-with-only-1-sex-partner/631449/12 "2012-08-14T14:07:21Z")
Another danger is, to put it bluntly, even good Catholics can get raped. One or both partners in a monogamous married couple could contract AIDS from forced sexual contact by a third party. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hiv-a-danger-for-people-with-only-1-sex-partner/631449/13 "2012-08-14T16:16:26Z")
The RCC, like a lot of Christian religions, sees Africa as a potential area of expansion. There are lots of people in Africa with HIV, including many in monogamous or tacitly condoned polyamorous relationships. While I understand there’s a lot of resistance to condoms in some places in Africa, there’s also, one assumes, a growing understanding of their usefulness, or else what the hell has the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation been up to all these years? –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hiv-a-danger-for-people-with-only-1-sex-partner/631449/14 "2012-08-14T16:18:33Z")
> [@xnylder](#): > > Another danger is, to put it bluntly, even good Catholics can get raped. One or both partners in a monogamous married couple could contract AIDS from forced sexual contact by a third party. And given what’s been going on in Africa for a decade or more, this is not such an unlikely scenario for many people. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hiv-a-danger-for-people-with-only-1-sex-partner/631449/15 "2012-08-14T20:15:18Z")
I personally know a woman who got HIV from a sex partner who told her “You’re the first woman I ever had sex with.” Turns out the guy wasn’t even lying (just laying with other men). ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hiv-a-danger-for-people-with-only-1-sex-partner/631449/16 "2012-08-14T20:17:23Z")
> [@SeaDragonTattoo](#): > > Sometimes someone with HIV meets someone else who doesn’t have HIV. Sometimes the positive person and the negative person fall in love. Sometimes they even get married. It’s prudent for the couple to use a condom so the negative person doesn’t contract HIV. It’s situations like this where condom use is condoned, among others already mentioned. > > Thinking the Church is condoning fornication is a bit shortsighted. How did the first person get HIV to start with? I won’t say the church condones fornication but the most common way that HIV is spread is through sex outside of marriage. Sure, there are other ways for this to happen but if anyone thinks that the church is recommending condoms just in case a person contracts HIV from a transfusion, their heads are in the sand. ---
**Author:** ![perfectparanoia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a5b964/32.png) [@perfectparanoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/perfectparanoia)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hiv-a-danger-for-people-with-only-1-sex-partner/631449/17 "2012-08-14T20:32:49Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > How did the first person get HIV to start with? I won’t say the church condones fornication but the most common way that HIV is spread is through sex outside of marriage. Sure, there are other ways for this to happen but if anyone thinks that the church is recommending condoms just in case a person contracts HIV from a transfusion, their heads are in the sand. Whether they ‘condone’ it or not, many people cheat on their spouses without the spouse knowing. So, if you are a ‘good catholic’ and your spouse isn’t, you get to die (or be on retrovirals for the rest of your life). ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hiv-a-danger-for-people-with-only-1-sex-partner/631449/18 "2012-08-15T09:36:42Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > In what way would allowing of condom use possibly constitute an endorsement of fornication? Because casual sex is the main reason to use condoms as protection against STIs, and there’s no mention they’re only to be used in other situations? ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hiv-a-danger-for-people-with-only-1-sex-partner/631449/19 "2012-08-15T12:05:31Z")
First of all, this isn’t new; he announced the change in stance [two years ago](http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/24/world/europe/24pope.html?pagewanted=all). Second, it appears to be focused on people who have AIDS and other sexually-transmitted diseases (and their partner, as applicable) to prevent them from spreading the disease: > [@](#): > > The Rev. Federico Lombardi, the Vatican’s spokesman, said that for Benedict, the use of condoms by people infected with H.I.V. could be “the first step of responsibility, of taking into consideration the risk to the life of the person with whom there are relations.” So if someone was infected with HIV previously, and then entered into a committed relationship/marriage, using condoms in that case would be Catholic Church-endorsed in order to protect the life of the partner. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hiv-a-danger-for-people-with-only-1-sex-partner/631449/20 "2012-08-15T13:35:48Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > I personally know a woman who got HIV from a sex partner who told her “You’re the first woman I ever had sex with.” Turns out the guy wasn’t even lying (just laying with other men). My wife had a female friend whose boyfriend “only slept with virgins” and she didn’t understand how she got vaginal warts(HPV):rolleyes: Needless to say the dude dumped her shortly afterward. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hiv-a-danger-for-people-with-only-1-sex-partner/631449.md?page=2)