Young gay men fuelling HIV epidemic, study warns

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The HIV epidemic in Europe, including the UK, is being fuelled by the risky behaviour of young gay men, according to research published today.

Public messages and campaigns about the dangers of unsafe sex do not appear to be getting through to men who have sex with men, the researchers say – particularly the young ones.

By investigating the genetic profile of the virus in more than 500 newly screened patients over nine years, scientists in Belgium have identified clusters of people with type B virus – not the one that is most prevalent in Africa.

Those infected are almost all white, male, gay and young, they say. These men also tend to have other sexual diseases, such as syphillis, which suggests that they are involved in unsafe sexual behaviour and are not using condoms.

The research was carried out by scientists at Ghent University in Belgium, and there is every indication that their findings hold true for the UK. Nick Partridge, the chief executive of the Terrence Higgins Trust, said that gay men were the group most at risk of HIV infection in the UK.

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"We clearly demonstrate that, despite the existence of prevention programmes, easily available testing facilities and a supposedly broad public awareness of the infection and its possible routes of transmission, MSM still account for the majority of local onward transmissions," they write.

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Nick Partridge echoed the call for targeted campaigns. "Gay men are still the most at risk of HIV infection in the UK. We also know that more than a quarter of people with HIV in the UK are currently undiagnosed, and they're far more likely to pass the virus on than those who know they have it." "Targeted HIV prevention programmes are key to reducing the numbers of new infections each year. But we'd also argue for innovative testing services to better diagnose men who've been at most risk."

Full story: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/sep/07/young-gay-men-hiv-epidemic

SEE? Peter LaBarbera, Tony Perkins, George Rekers, Martin Ssempa, and all those dirty homphobic far-right fundamentalist unscientifically informed Christians were RIGHT! Gay men really do all that nasty stuff like eat each others' poop and finger each others' butts and spread STDs! HIDE YOUR KIDS, HIDE YOUR WIFE, the coming genocide of heterosexuals is coming! We need to ban same-sex marriage and re-criminalize sodomy RIGHT NOW before HIV claims the last straight man alive! :sarcasm:

But really, this is one of those stories that the anti-gay industry (LaBarbera et al as I mentioned in my sarcastic rant) will overplay and spin and spin to outrage its audience of sheep. As the study authors are quoted, despite the availability of sex ed risky behavior continues, and there need to be more "targeted campaigns". Not ignorance or "re-criminalizing sodomy" (which was actually a sign by Prop 8 supporters).