Why was hiv prevalent in gay men
Debunking Common Myths About HIV
Read responses to myths that 'HIV is a gay disease' or a 'death sentence,' and find other important facts about getting tested.
Myths about who contracts HIV
MYTH: “HIV is a ‘gay’ or ‘LGBTQ+’ disease.”
REALITY: While rates of HIV are disproportionately higher among members of the LGBTQ+ community, HIV is by no means confined to LGBTQ+ people. Anyone—regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, gender statement or other factors—can gain HIV. Calling HIV a “gay” or “LGBTQ+” disease is medically untrue and only serves to perpetuate harmful stereotypes about people living with HIV and members of the Queer community.
MYTH: “I am over 50! I don’t deserve to worry about HIV.”
REALITY: HIV transmission is about behavior; not how vintage you are. Moreover, according to the CDC, older Americans are more likely to be diagnosed with HIV at a later stage of the disease.
MYTH: “I am in a monogamous relationship. I don’t have to worry about HIV.”
REALITY: It is still important to get tested for HIV even if you’re in a monogamous relationship. According to the latest estimates, 68 percent of new HIV transmissions among gay and
National Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Insight Day 2022
Gay and Bisexual person Men face multiple HIV-related challenges, such as racism, discrimination, homophobia, and stigma, that put them at higher risk for HIV and prevent them from accessing quality health care that allows them to be aware of their status and take steps to improve their health. These factors are even more prominent for Gay and Bisexual Men of shade . From 2008 to 2020, Black Gay and Bisexual Men and Hispanic/Latino Gay and Bisexual Men experienced a 14% decrease and 1% decrease respectively in new HIV diagnoses, compared to a 41% decrease among alabaster Gay and Bisexual Men.
Racial disparities are also evident along the HIV nurture continuum, a public health model that outlines the stages of care people living with HIV proceed through from diagnosis to achieving and maintaining viral suppression. In 2019, Black Gay and Bisexual Men and Hispanic Gay and Bisexual Men living with HIV had lower rates of viral suppression, 61% and 66% respectively, compared to white Gay and Bi-curious Men living with HIV (73%).
In addition to racial disparities, many Gay and Bisexual Men experience challenges in achieving and maintai
What led to the fall in HIV cases in UK gay men?
HIV incidence in homosexual and bisexual men in the UK has fallen to such an extent that new diagnoses among heterosexuals exceeded those in homosexual and bisexual men for the first time in a decade in 2020.
A poster presented at this week’s Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2022) by Dr Valentina Cambiano and colleagues from University College London (with input from the UK Health Security Agency and people organisations, including aidsmap.com), estimates that there were 669 fresh HIV infections in gay and pansexual men in 2021.
In 2011 there had been about 3000 infections. Cambiano and colleagues estimate that this 75% let go in a decade will continue if current prevention measures are maintained, primary to new cases of HIV in gay and bi-curious men becoming uncommon by 2040.
This is new infections, not diagnoses. During 2020, 976 gay or bisexual men tested HIV positive and 1067 heterosexuals. But this includes people diagnosed with a low CD4 tally who may include had HIV for years and people who caught it outside the UK. In fact, while substantial falls in diagnoses in same-sex attracted men were first reported in 2016, epidemiolog
Why Do Gay Men Include a Higher Chance of Getting HIV?
HIV is preventable. Here are a rare ways to reduce the risk of transmission.
1. Exploit a barrier method during sex
Condoms and other barrier methods can protect against HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
If you have HIV or another STI, getting treatment and using a condom or other barrier method every time you have sex can reduce the exposure of transmission.
If you don’t have an STI, you can protect yourself from acquiring an STI by using a condom or other barrier way every time you possess sex.
Also, it’s important to buy the right size condom for you and to use it properly.
2. Choose alternative sexual activities
Some activities carry a higher risk of HIV transmission than others.
The chance of transmission is upper during anal sex without a condom or other barrier method.
The chance of transmission is below average during oral sex or activities that don’t involve contact with bodily fluids.
3. Limit your number of sexual partners
The chance of HIV transmission increases with the number of sexual partners a person has.
4. Get testing and treatment
If you’re an MSM, examine getting
LGBTQ History Month: The early days of America's AIDS crisis
It was not until the late 1970s when the HIV strain that started the North American pandemic had made its way to the United States, via Zaire and Haiti. By then, the sexual revolution was in complete swing and HIV was spreading silently among gay male populations in immense American cities. Men who have sex with men were, and still are, disproportionately impacted by HIV because it transmits much more easily through anal sex than through vaginal sex.
The first official government describe on AIDS came on June 5, 1981, in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, a government bulletin on perplexing disease cases: “In the period October 1980-May 1981, 5 young men, all active homosexuals, were treated for biopsy-confirmed Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia at 3 different hospitals in Los Angeles, California. Two of the patients died.”
In NBC Nightly News’ first report on AIDS in June 1982, Robert Bazell reported that “the top guess is some infectious agent is causing it.”
In a 1983 appearance on NBC's "Today" show, activist and Gay Mens Health Crisis co-founder Larry Kramer asked host Jane Pauley, "Jane, can you visualize