Can you get an STI using a condom? Yes, even when it is used correctly and never breaks. Here is what condoms cover, what they do not, and what closes the gap.
Condoms reduce the risk of HIV and several other infections, but a condom can only protect what it covers. HPV can infect areas a condom does not cover. In this video I go through five rounds of evidence: HIV, other infections and herpes, HPV, one country’s data, and what a school HPV vaccine programme did to infection numbers in South Africa.
Honest limits: these studies show associations, not guarantees, and they describe groups of people, not you. The vaccine result measures infection with HPV types 16 and 18, not cancer.
HPV vaccination and cervical screening schedules differ by country. Look up your national schedule or ask a clinician.
Note: the 117 million figure is modelling cited by WHO of new HIV infections averted since 1990 across 77 high-burden countries. It is a modelled estimate, not a count.
CHAPTERS
0:00 Can you get an STI with a condom?
0:40 What a condom covers (raincoat, not bodysuit)
1:59 The honest numbers: HIV, herpes and more
3:16 HPV: the houseguest problem
4:59 One country’s data: South Africa
6:33 The vaccine result
7:45 Closing the gap: condoms, vaccine, screening
REFERENCES (links will be added when YouTube allows links on this channel)
1. World Health Organization. Condoms (fact sheet), 14 February 2025.
2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Primary Prevention Methods. Sexually Transmitted Infections Treatment Guidelines, 2021. MMWR Recomm Rep 2021;70(4).
3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About Genital HPV Infection, updated 31 January 2025.
4. World Health Organization. Cervical cancer (fact sheet), 3 July 2026.
5. Winer RL, et al. Condom use and the risk of genital human papillomavirus infection in young women. N Engl J Med 2006;354(25):2645-2654. DOI 10.1056/NEJMoa053284
6. Malagón T, et al. Sex- and type-specific genital human papillomavirus transmission rates between heterosexual partners: a Bayesian reanalysis of the HITCH cohort. Epidemiology 2021;32(3):368-377. DOI 10.1097/EDE.0000000000001324
7. Martin ET, et al. A pooled analysis of the effect of condoms in preventing HSV-2 acquisition. Arch Intern Med 2009;169(13):1233-1240. DOI 10.1001/archinternmed.2009.177
8. Kufa T, et al. Microbiological sentinel surveillance of sexually-transmitted infection syndromes in South Africa, 2021-2024. Public Health Bulletin South Africa, Issue 07, Volume 03, June 2025.
9. National Cancer Registry, South Africa. Summary Statistics of Cancer Diagnosed Histologically in 2024.
10. Dhokotera T, et al. Cervical cancer in women living in South Africa: a record linkage study of the National Health Laboratory Service and the National Cancer Registry. ecancermedicalscience 2022;16:1348. DOI 10.3332/ecancer.2022.1348
11. Machalek DA, et al. Population impact of South Africa’s human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programme on HPV prevalence in adolescent girls with and without HIV: a repeat cross-sectional study. Lancet Glob Health 2026;14(4):e570-e578. DOI 10.1016/S2214-109X(25)00525-X
12. Bolon J, et al. An audit of adherence to cervical cancer screening guidelines in a tertiary-level HIV clinic. Southern African Journal of HIV Medicine 2023;24(1). DOI 10.4102/sajhivmed.v24i1.1490
Evidence-first health answers from Dr. Simba, a medical doctor. I trace every number in my videos to a published source, listed in the references.
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This video is for health education only and is not a substitute for personal medical advice.
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