Fridae

There is an extremely low risk of transmitting HIV between men who have sex with men (MSM) during oral sex, according to a new study published in the current issue of the journal AIDS.

Nearly 240 gay men who went for anonymous HIV testing in San Francisco between December of 1999 and 2001 filled out a survey and reported having oral sex exclusively in the prior six months. None of these men tested positive for HIV.

This doesn't mean oral sex is safe. Certain sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) can easily spread between partners during oral sex.

The participants had an average of three different partners in the last six months with 98 percent of the men not using a condom during oral sex, according to an article in aidsmap.com about the study. Of those men, 35 percent reported getting semen in their mouths, and 70 percent of those men swallowed the semen.

"The absence of HIV infection detected in this sample confirms� that orally acquired HIV infection is rare," aidsmap.com reported. However, more than five percent of the men who had unprotected anal sex tested positive for HIV, the researchers said. This is evidence of, "the striking difference in the risk of HIV between those who report exclusively fellatio and those who report higher-risk sexual behaviours."

It's important to note that this is a small study and as a result, the researchers wrote, "we cannot rule out the possibility that the probability of infection is indeed greater than zero." Other studies have found a greater risk associated with oral sex.