The condom itself is not 100 % safe. Result of examination show the
following :

A condom is made of rubber (latex), a hydrocarbon compound with
polymerization, which means that it is fibrous and porous like woven
cloth.

By means of an electronic microscope the pores of the condom can be seen
in a non-stretched state with a width of 1/60 micron, while the HIV/AIDS
virus has a width of 1/250 micron. When the condom is stretched the pores
of the condom are 10 times as wide as that of the virus; in other words,
the virus can go through the wall of the condom.

________

"The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the
National Institutes of Health, released the report compiled by the panel
of 28 experts, who analyzed about 138 published studies on the use of
condoms during penile-vaginal intercourse.
"There was a lack of evidence to help us make a definitive conclusion
about the effectiveness of condoms," said panel member Dr. Timothy
Schacker, an infectious disease expert at the University of Minnesota"

___________

THE SPERM VS. THE AIDS VIRUS
A paper in the February 1992 issue of Applied and Environmental
Microbiology reports that filtration techniques show the HIV-1 virus to be
0.1 micron (4 millionths of an inch) in diameter. It is three times
smaller than the herpes virus, 60 times smaller than the syphilis
spirochete, and 50 to 450 times smaller than sperm. (8)
8.Lytle, C. D., et al., "Filtration Sizes of Human Immunodeficiency Virus
Type 1 and Surrogate Viruses Used to Test Barrier Materials," Applied and
Environmental Microbiology, Vol. 58, #2, Feb. 1992.

DUREX GLOBAL SEX SURVEY
I find this survey to be very interesting with regard to South Africa (The
Citizen 17th October 2000). From the survey it is stated that "Compared to
the world average change of 58%, it is people in South Africa (where 86%
changed their sexual lifestyle), the US (a 74% change), Nigeria and
Thailand (both averaging a 73% change) who made the most significant
changes". These findings suggest that South Africa is a world-beater as
far as condom use is concerned. Well done Durex - condom manufacturer,
this country has become your best market.
However, in the light of this finding, I have some relevant comments to
make. We are told almost daily that HIV infection is rising in South
Africa - 1700 new cases everyday!
This would suggest that:
1) Condom use has no effect on HIV
2) The purified HI Virus - if it can be shown to exist, is not sexually
transmitted!
Durex undoubtedly has made a lot of money from the sale of condoms in
Africa. Perhaps they could donate some of this money to a few programmes
such as:
Improvement of sanitation where none exists.
Research into other sexually transmitted diseases such as:
(a) Gonorrhoea
(b) Syphilis
(c) Chlamidia
In particular the research could focus on whether or not these above
mentioned three conditions are going up or not in the light of increased
usage of condoms by the South African population.
Prof. SWP Mhlongo Head & Chief Family Practitioner Family Medicine &
Primary Health Care Medunsa South Africa