HIV rates soar among young gays

hiv_test — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 17:17:54 +0000

More, younger gay men are being diagnosed with HIV than ever before. The number of men in the 20-29 age group being infected is likely to double 2007 levels by the end of this year. Already, in the first quarter of the year, 21 men have been infected in Victoria, just half of the number infected, 43, from two years ago. Last year the number infected was 56. In the past, the group with the most new cases of HIV has been the 30-39 age group, but in just the first quarter, the 20-29 age group has 2 more new cases than the 30-39 age group.

This may suggest that Victoria’s safe-sex campaigns may not be succeeding. It has been suggested that the State Government has waited too long to respond to growing infection rates, and also that it should invest more money in prevention programs. Researchers in the field are concerned because this is the first time in a very long time that they have seen the 20-29 age group show an increase in infection rate.

Some people think that this recent surge is due to advertisements not sending the right message. The advertisements were developed using explicit imagery for pornographic videos, but it did not encourage condom use among gays men. Although the advertisements used explicit imagery, many gay men feel that their sexuality is about who they fall in love with and not about the fact that they have sex with men. This means that more gay men were having unprotected sex, which means that the ad campaigns were not fulfilling their purpose.

This may indicate that the need for testing is higher, as there is a higher rate of HIV infection among young gay men. Testing for HIV is a necessary component to everybody’s sexual health and well-being.

For the original article, please refer to http://www.hivtestingblog.com/original-articles/.

Black Gay Men May Be At Increased HIV Risk

hiv_test — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:38:01 +0000

In a study looking at social and sexual mixing between ethnic groups in men who have sex with men, researchers show that social barriers faced by black gay men may have a serious impact on their health and well-being.

In the US, there is a disproportionate burden of HIV infection in Black Americans, who accounted for nearly half of all HIV/AIDS cases diagnosed in 2006 – four times the national average.

A total of 1,142 gay men took part in computer-assisted interviews. They were asked about their own ethnicity, the race of their sexual partners in the last six months, their perception of how easy it is to meet sexual partners of different ethnicities, where they meet sexual partners, their view of HIV infection risk and the predominant race of their network of friends.

Black gay men are the least preferred of sexual partners by other races. Black men are perceived to be riskier to have sex with, which can lead to men of other races avoiding Black men as sexual partners. They are also perceived as less welcome in the common social venues of gay men in San Francisco. As a result, Black men are three times more likely to have sexual partners that are also Black, than would be expected by chance alone.

The authors conclude: “The racial disparity in HIV observed for more than a decade will not disappear until the challenges posed by a legacy of racism towards Blacks in the US are addressed.”

For the complete article, please refer to http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090629114536.htm

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HIV rates soar among young gays

Black Gay Men May Be At Increased HIV Risk