Partners of HIV+'s to get drugs

- to prevent transfer of the virus. Researchers at London's Royal Free Hospital are calling for antiretroviral to be given to partners of those infected.

Dr Mike Youle told the BBC: "I would feel that if we had agents that could treat HIV, they would also be likely to prevent HIV and this should be evaluated.

"There are animal studies that show you can prevent infection with these drugs."

He said that people taking the drugs would have take one tablet a day, or possibly one just before having sex.

I like the idea in theory, it's stopping people becoming ill unnecessarily. But Will Nutland of the Terrence Higgins Trust, the largest charity for gay men in the UK said:

"We should be looking at the rights of people who are in HIV relationships or with HIV to be thinking about whether this gives them the opportunity to be having condomless sex that many others enjoy"

I really don't like that part of the idea - it's making the point that people have a 'right' to have unsafe sex with a person who carries a life threatening virus. People need to keep this in mind - you will die if you contract HIV. Why be reckless?