Do male latex condoms prevent all viral transmission?
While it has been suggested that latex condoms have microscopic pores which might leak during use, studies testing condom permeability have suggested that the expected exposure to HIV due to leakage through approved condoms would be no more than a single virus for every 100 condoms used. Infection with HIV requires exposure to large quantities of the virus; hence, condoms provide substantial protection. More importantly, sero-conversion cohort studies among sero-discordant couples found that individuals who consistently used condoms were significantly less likely to sero-convert than were those who did not (less than 2.3% among condom users versus 7 to14% in non users).
