Email This Article    Print

Study Shows Responsible Partner Selection Behaviors Practiced By Men Diagnosed With HIV

Med Headlines - A study presented this week at the Centers for Disease Control Conference in Atlanta revealed that most HIV infected men have unprotected sex only with others who are infected with HIV. The study included 27 men with acute HIV infection. (This refers to the one month period immediately following HIV infection, when a person tends to the have the highest levels of HIV circulating in their blood, making if much more likely they will infect a partner during unprotected sex.)

“This reflects a systematic shift by me, most of whom are gay, following HIV infection to demonstrate behaviors that protect their sex partners,” noted lead author Wayne Steward, assistant professor of medicine at the University of California and San Francisco’s Center for AIDS Prevention Studies.

Prior to HIV infection, the men in the study had unprotected sex with HIV-negative or HIV-unknown partners almost 75 percent of the time. After learning they were infected with HIV, there was a major change in their behavior. The started having sex with other HIV infected men 97 percent of the time.

“This study highlights the importance of identifying acute or recent HIV infections so that this partner selection strategy can be implemented at the critical juncture when individuals are most infectious,” said Dr. Steward.

The study comes on the heels of new data from two U.S. that found that about a third of HIV infected gay or bisexual men report having engaged in unsafe sex. However, in many cases, the men were selecting other HIV-positive partners when engaging in unsafe sex, a practice called “serosorting.”

• Mesothelioma Treatment Reaches a New Breakthrough Moment
• Jeez, Doc, Get Some Sleep!
• Medical Exam Predicts Type 2 Diabetes as Well as Genetic Testing
• Medicaid Pays Millions for Unapproved Drugs
• Where’s the Beef? All Fast Foods Based on Corn
• Is Financial Fraud Behind Dramatic Spike in Pediatric Antipsychotics?
• Will Fast-Food Ads Follow the Marlboro Man Into History?