The effect of asymptomatic sexually transmitted urethral infections on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) RNA viral load in semen is poorly defined. We studied five such patients. Those on antiretrovirals (n = 2) had lower seminal plasma viral loads (SPVL) (2.11 and 1.98 log(10) copies/mL) than those not on antiretrovirals (n = 3) (2.27-3.78 log(10) copies/mL). One patient who was not taking antiretrovirals had a 94% decline in SPVL after treatment of asymptomatic Chlamydia trachomatis urethritis, suggesting that asymptomatic infection may be a co-factor for HIV transmission.
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Rieg et al. (2010) studied this question.
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