Today’s front page features an article about the progress registered in preventing HIV infection through the use of a gel spiked with drugs that has proven to be effective in reducing the risk of women contracting the virus by 39 per cent.

The study was carried out in South Africa, a nation notorious for men forcing women to have unprotected sex – pushing up the incidence of HIV infection tremendously. Women’s physiology makes them more susceptible to infection than men, and this is why 60 per cent of sufferers in South Africa are female.

The news is very welcome – and it should be received with joy around the world. But there is still work to do. In order to get approval in the United States, which is the benchmark for medicinals’ approval, the figure needs to be closer to 80 per cent.

The creators hope that they can boost the percentages by adding more of the drug tenofovir or getting women to use it more consistently. In the study, women used the gel only 60 per cent of the time; those who used it more often had higher rates of protection.

Scientists have also been quoted as saying that there is true evidence that the gel does indeed “slash” the risk of infection. But at the end of the day, whatever the percentages are, the only true ways of preventing contraction of STIs is through abstinence (speaks for itself) or by using a condom.

This newspaper has repeatedly published leading articles with the message: Just use a condom. And it is not only about contraception, it is about the very serious risk of contracting STIs. It is useless to shy away from the truth, it has been happening for years. Every summer it is a bonanza for the younger generation. They mix with tourists and they inevitably end up having sexual relations with people from all walks of life and from all corners of the globe. Of course, this does not infer that Maltese stock does not carry disease, but it only increases the risks when one mixes with people who are, after all, total strangers and not very liable to disclose their ills.

The list is a lengthy one – herpes, gonorrhea, Chlamydia, HIV, Hepatitis, genital warts, syphilis… these are all diseases that one can contract from having unprotected sex. Unfortunately, like Africa, many people in Malta choose not to use condoms and a recent study has shown that the worst perpetrators are people over 40 who move to another relationship.

While the discovery of the gel can only be hailed as a massive scientific and medicinal breakthrough, it is up to us as human beings to be responsible in our sexual activities. Sleeping around without using protection is a surefire way of contracting one of the many sexually transmitted infections which literally live amongst us. However, in a country where one cannot even say boo to a goose, it is hard to believe that the mere mention of condoms as a means of preventing disease is still somewhat taboo.

STIs can kill; they can make people infertile; damage sanity and make people’s lives a living hell. It is up to us, as people, to take the precautions which are needed.