AMSTERDAM (AFP) – AIDS experts have called for an end to laws that can see HIV-positive people jailed for exposing others to the virus, saying the approach was “unscientific” and worsening the killer epidemic. At least 68 countries have legislation that criminalises HIV “non-disclosure”, exposure, or transmission, two dozen scientists wrote in a “consensus statement” released at the 22nd International AIDS Conference, here. The statement is meant to serve as a synthesis of up-to-date scientific evidence of how HIV can, and cannot, be transmitted. It concludes that jailing people for exposing others to the virus cannot be backed by science.

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