Dr Peter Saxton Half of NZ's gay and bi men who are having unprotected sex have not tested for HIV in the past year and they may not be telling their partners they could have contracted HIV in the meantime. Just 51% of gay and bisexual men engaging in condomless anal intercourse with casual partners had tested for HIV in the past twelve months, according to research presented at the New Zealand Sexual Health Society conference in Taupo. “Gay and bisexual men hooking up should be aware that their partner’s HIV negative test status could be outdated. Some men will have had condomless anal sex since their last negative result and now have undiagnosed HIV. That information is seldom communicated openly to a new sexual partner or on a dating app,” says Dr. Peter Saxton, lead author and Director of the Gay Men’s Sexual Health research group at the University of Auckland. “Condoms take the guesswork out of sex, rather than having to rely on full and accurate disclosure from casual partners or from ‘friends with benefits,’” Saxton adds. Overall, three quarters of those men had been tested for HIV at some stage of their lives, with 42% of all of the men studied testing in the past year. “While it’s encouraging that gay and bisexual men taking the most risks are also testing the most, it’s concerning that testing in this group isn’t universal” says Saxton. The findings come from a diverse sample of 3140 participants in the Gay Auckland Periodic Sex Survey (GAPSS) and Gay Men’s online Sex Survey (GOSS) conducted in New Zealand in 2014. Overall 5% of all respondents had been diagnosed with HIV, or 1.4% of those testing in the last 12 months. Sexual health clinics were the most popular place for gay and bi men to have an HIV test, replacing general practitioners which had been the most common. Other factors predicting recent HIV testing were having a tertiary degree, having more than 20 sexual partners in the last six months, and being exposed more frequently to safe sex promotion. Conversely, HIV testing rates were lower amongst men recruited from Internet dating sites, who identified as bisexual, or who didn’t have casual sex. In addition to recent HIV testing, the study examined those who had never tested for HIV. “Over 30% of participants recruited from Internet dating sites had never tested for HIV, and this was also true for gay men under 30 (40.1% of whom had never tested), those who were Maori or Pacific, or who identified as bisexual” says Saxton. “Understandably the younger the age profile of the group, the less likely they were to have ever tested for HIV”. Saxton says that “HIV testing needs to be normalised, acceptable and accessible to all gay and bisexual who have had condomless anal intercourse. Too many gay and bisexual men are being diagnosed too late in the course of their infection to maximise the benefits of anti-HIV treatments for their own health and for HIV prevention.” In July this year, the START study reported that early rather than delayed treatment reduced the likelihood of AIDS and serious non-AIDS-related events. Also in July, the HPTN 052 study reported a 93% reduction in HIV transmission from mainly heterosexual HIV positive individuals on treatment to their partner. The study is a collaboration between the University of Auckland, the University of Otago and the New Zealand AIDS Foundation with funding from the Ministry of Health.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News
First published: Tuesday, 27th October 2015 - 7:22am