Effectiveness
and Testing
Are
condoms effective at preventing infection with the virus HIV?
Yes.
Studies have shown that if a latex condom is used correctly every time you
have sex, this is highly effective in providing protection against HIV.
The evidence for this
is clearest in studies of couples in which one person is infected with HIV
and the other not. i.e. "discordant couples". In a study of
discordant couples in Europe, among 123 couples who reported consistent
condom use, none of the uninfected partners became infected.1
In contrast, among the 122 couples who used condoms inconsistently, 12 of
the uninfected partners became infected.
In
the laboratory, latex condoms are very effective at blocking transmission
of HIV because the pores in latex condoms are too small to allow the virus
to pass through. However, outside of the laboratory condoms are less
effective because people do not always use condoms properly.
How
often do condoms fail?
There
is no one answer to this, as different studies have shown different
results. Many studies of condom effectiveness have counted how often women
have become pregnant when their partners have used condoms for birth
control. This "failure rate" includes cases where the couple did
not use a condom every time they had sex, or they did not use the condom
correctly. Some studies have included the times the condom was torn
accidentally by the people using it.
How
often do condoms break
In
the United States most studies of breakage caused by defects in the condom
itself, have shown the breakage rate is less than 2 out of every 100
condoms, probably less than 1 out of every 100. Studies in other countries
have shown a breakage rate ranging from 0% to 7%.
