In persons with HIV infection, the virus is found in body fluids, including blood and semen.
Sexual contact is the most common way people spread the infection.
Although the ability of anti-HIV drugs to lower the amount of virus in the blood is well known, the effect of those drugs on the amount of virus in semen has not been extensively studied. It seems likely that the greater the amount of HIV in a man's semen, the greater his risk for spreading the infection through sexual contact. To measure the effect of anti-HIV drug treatment on the amount of virus in the semen of men with HIV infection. The study included 93 men with HIV infection receiving care at a teaching hospital in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. All men entered the study at the time that they started anti-HIV drugs.