It has been assumed for a while now that bisexual men pose a large threat to their female partners in the transmission of HIV. The claim was that bisexual men could bridge the gender gap by having relations with men and then transmitting the virus to female partners. While the transmitting of HIV among bisexuals does exist, investigation as to whether they pose a greater threat was the object of a recent study.

In the U.S. there is about an estimated one million bisexual men. Of these, over 100,000 have HIV. This number measures up to the CDC’s estimates. The likelihood of passing on the infection to their partners is not far off from that of other groups. The results of the study then show that the claims previously mentioned have been slightly exaggerated: While it is possible for this group to transmit HIV to their partners, there does not seem to be any greater risk in this group than in homosexual men or with female partners. Risk

The research that has been done thus far clearly shows, however, that protected sex yields the best outcome and greatly reduces the transmission of viral infection. In this matter, bisexual men fared better, as safer practices mean less transmission. Homosexual men show a tendency to be more lax in this regard. Technically, with this in mind, it puts the bisexual man in a better statistical arena.

Still, in light of this research, physicians and experts alike stress the importance of education and safe sex practices. These are essential to helping curb the spread of HIV. Risk factors due to lifestyle should not be ignored just because numbers were not as high as some may have thought. In this case, researchers are looking to further investigate into this group of bisexual men so as to get a clearer picture of how to reduce transmission.