Condom safety and HIV. In response [letter]

The author has previously investigated condom safety as it applies to HIV. He and his colleagues concluded in the study that 29/89 condoms tested leaked and that condom use during intercourse significantly reduced the risk of HIV transmission even though it did not altogether eliminate the risk of exposure. Dr. Carey here refutes Vessey et al. who argue that his work is flawed statistically. Were the statistical approach suggested by Vessey et al. available Carey et al. have done the best analysis possible with available means. Further Carey notes that some readers are wrongly concluding from the results that one is likely to be exposed to HIV after only 3 condom-protected sexual encounters with an HIV-infected person; one instead has the likelihood of being exposed to small amounts of seminal fluid. This issue is clarified in the text. Finally where Vessey et al. point out Carey et al.s failure to account for condom breakage slippage and misuse in vitro Carey rebuts that he and his team had no intention of so doing. Suggestions on how to model condom misuse or breakage are however encouraged.