Dr. Peter Saxton One in five New Zealand gay and bi men with HIV are unaware they have been infected with the virus, which causes AIDS. University of Otago research released moments ago indicates that 21% of HIV-infected men are unaware of their infection and therefore may not be taking care to avoid passing the virus on to their sex partner or partners, and are not accessing medical care in the crucial early stages of their infection. “The existence of people with undiagnosed HIV infection must be taken seriously if we’re to bring HIV under better control,” says lead investigator Dr. Peter Saxton of the Department of Preventive and Social Medicine at the University of Otago. “A person with undiagnosed HIV cannot tell someone they’re infected and might not initiate safe sex. The practical reality of this is that everyone, especially gay men, needs to become better educated, supported and proficient at safe sex to control HIV and other sexually transmitted infections,” he says. “Individuals with HIV who remain undiagnosed delay treatments that can improve their quality of life and life expectancy. While treatments don’t eliminate the HIV virus, they keep it at low levels and also reduce a person’s infectiousness to others.” The new figures are based on a study conducted this time last year in Auckland gay venues and at the Big Gay Out. 1049 participants answered an anonymous questionnaire and provided an anonymous saliva swab for HIV testing. This is the first time a biological measure of HIV prevalence has been collected in the New Zealand gay and bi community. You can discuss this New Zealand gay community news story in the GayNZ.com forum.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Thursday, 2nd February 2012 - 3:01pm