http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-02/mideast-hiv-epidemic-emerges-as-sex-between-men-fuels-spread-study-finds.htmlSex between men is responsible for more than a quarter of new HIV infections in parts of the Middle East and North Africa, according to a study that shows epidemics of the AIDS-causing virus are emerging in the region.
High-risk sex between truck drivers in Morocco and Pakistan, prisoners in Lebanon and street children in Egypt are fueling the spread of HIV among those groups, researchers in Qatar found in a study of data from 23 nations published yesterday by the Public Library of Science in its journal PLoS Medicine.
The survey is the first to describe the state of HIV among gay and bisexual men in a region where same-sex intercourse is often criminal and the stigma associated with it can hinder efforts to prevent transmissions, the researchers said. They hope the findings will spur governments to curb the epidemics, said Laith Abu-Raddad, an associate professor of public health at the Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar who led the study.
“Only a few countries have started in the right direction,” Abu-Raddad said in a telephone interview from Doha, citing Morocco, Pakistan and Lebanon. “The majority of countries still haven’t really acted.” He declined to say which nations are lagging behind, saying the matter is sensitive.
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