Sat 25 Sep 2010 In: International News View at Wayback View at NDHA
A study has found one in five sexually active gay men in the United States is HIV positive, and almost half of those who carry the virus do not know they are infected. The Washington Post reports the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention tested more than 8,000 men in 21 cities in 2008, and found that young, sexually active gay men and those in minority groups were least likely to know their health status. It found the rates of other at-risk groups – straight people and intravenous drug users - were falling. The findings have been published ahead of the US National Gay Men's HIV Awareness Day on Monday. ''This study's message is clear: HIV exacts a devastating toll on men who have sex with men in America's major cities, and yet far too many of those who are infected don't know it,'' said Kevin Fenton, director of the centres' National Centre for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention. Of the cities studied, Baltimore had the highest prevalence of HIV among gay men at 38 percent, while Atlanta had the lowest at 6 percent. New York had a rate of 29 percent and Philadelphia had a rate of 11 percent .
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Saturday, 25th September 2010 - 3:49pm