Every adult homoloveual in the US has known for the last 20 years how AIDS is spread. Yet during all that time they have continued to do what spreads AIDS. If you don't know how AIDS is spread by male homoloveuals you really should look for some information about it...especially if you are a male homoloveual. Facts: Cumulative Effect of HIV Infection and AIDS (through 2003) * An estimated 503,305 MSM (440,887 MSM and 62,418 MSM who inject drugs) had received a diagnosis of AIDS, accounting for 67% of all men and 54% of all people who received a diagnosis of AIDS * An estimated 295,981 MSM (257,898 MSM and 38,083 MSM who inject drugs) with AIDS had died, accounting for 68% of all men and 56% of all people with AIDS who died. * At the end of 2003, an estimated 207,323 MSM (182,989 MSM and 24,334 MSM who inject drugs) were living with AIDS, representing 66% of all men and 51% of all people living with AIDS. RISK FACTORS AND BARRIERS TO PREVENTION loveual Risk Factors loveual risk factors account for most HIV infections in MSM. These factors include unprotected love and loveually transmitted diseases (STDs). * Not using a condom during anal love with someone other than a primary partner of known HIV status continues to be a significant threat to the health of MSM. Not all the reasons for an apparent increase in unprotected anal intercourse are known, but research points to the following factors: improvements in HIV treatment, substance use, complex loveual decision making, seeking love partners on the Internet, and failure to maintain prevention practices. * STDs, which increase the risk for HIV infection, remain an issue for MSM. According to the Gonococcal Isolate Surveillance Project, the proportion of positive test results for gonorrhea among MSM increased from 4% in 1988 to 19.6% in 2003. Rates of syphilis among MSM have increased in some urban areas, including San Francisco, Chicago, New York, and Seattle. In the 9 US. cities participating in the MSM Prevalence Monitoring Project, STDs and HIV positivity varied by race and ethnicity but tended to be highest among African American MSM. In addition to increasing susceptibility to HIV, STDs are markers for high-risk loveual practices that can transmit HIV, making increases in STD rates a cause for concern. Substance Use The use of alcohol and illegal drugs continues to be prevalent among some MSM and is linked to HIV and STD risk. Substance use can increase the risk of HIV transmission through the tendency toward risky loveual behaviors while under the influence and through sharing needles or other injection equipment. Reports of increased use of the stimulant drug methamphetamine across the country have raised public health concerns because methamphetamine use has been buttociated both with loveual risk behaviors for HIV and STDs and sharing injection equipment when the drug is injected. Methamphetamine and other �party� drugs (such as ecstasy, ketamine, and GHP gamma hydroxybutyrate) may be used to decrease social inhibitions and enhance loveual experiences. These drugs, along with alcohol and nitrate inhalants (�poppers�), have been buttociated with risky loveual practices among MSM. Complacency about Risk Almost 25 years into the HIV epidemic, there is evidence of an underestimation of risk, of difficulty in maintaining safer loveual practices, and of a need to sustain prevention efforts for each generation of young gay and biloveual men. * The success of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) may have had the unintended consequence of increasing some MSM�s risk behaviors. Some research suggests that the negative aspects of HIV infection have been minimized since the introduction of HAART, which has led to a false understanding of what living with HIV means and thus can lead to increased risk behaviors. For example, some MSM may mistakenly believe that they or their partners are not infectious when they take medication or have low or undetectable viral loads. Even though surveys suggest that optimism about HIV treatments is buttociated with a greater willingness to have unprotected anal intercourse, a recent review found that the prevalence of unprotected loveual intercourse was not significantly higher among HIV-positive persons who were receiving HAART or who had an undetectable viral load. However, this review did find that unprotected love was buttociated with beliefs about HAART and viral load . * Long-term efforts to maintain safer loveual practices present a significant challenge. A 4-city study indicates that years of exposure to prevention messages and long-term efforts to maintain safer loveual practices may play a role in the decision of HIV-positive MSM to engage in unprotected anal intercourse. * The rates of risky behaviors are higher among young MSM than among older MSM. Not having seen firsthand the toll of AIDS, young MSM may be less motivated to practice safer love.
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