Kenya Defence Forces Soldiers (KDF) believe they are immune to HIV, a study conducted at the Forces Memorial Hospital in Nairobi has revealed.
In the findings published in the East African Medical Journal that involved 384 participants who are in a relationship with one partner who was HIV-positive, 3% of the group believed that they were being protected by God during sexual intercourse.
The study on the discordant couples who were attending the facility, also revealed that the rest of the participants believed they had natural immunity against the disease.
“About three per cent believed that they were being protected by God during sexual intercourse while others believed they had natural immunity against the disease,” the study revealed.
The study also revealed that 88 per cent of the soldiers used condoms with their regular partners and never strayed when deployed away from home.
A small percentage, however, stated that they do not use condoms with 13 percent noting that they did not find condoms pleasurable or comfortable.
The research on individuals with natural immunity against HIV and development of vaccines started in the 1980s when some female sex workers from Majengo Slums, Nairobi, were confirmed to resist the virus but was abandoned around 2004.
The study was a collaboration between researchers from several institutions, titled, Risky Sexual Behaviours among HIV Sero-Discordant Individuals Attending Defence Forces Memorial Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya.
