Gay and bisexual men are going to be asked to provide an anonymous saliva specimen when they take part in an ongoing survey about their sexual habits next month. It's the first time GAPSS (the Gay Auckland Periodic Sex Survey) participants will be invited to provide an anonymous oral fluid specimen with their questionnaire. The aim is to estimate the level of unrecognised HIV infection in this community and to explore whether this varies by age, ethnicity or sexual behaviour. New Zealand AIDS Foundation (NZAF) Senior Researcher and Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Otago's Department of Preventive and Social Medicine Dr Peter Saxton says unrecognised HIV infection harms people's health because they may not be able to access effective treatment in a timely way. "Also, a disproportionate amount of new HIV transmission is attributable to people with unrecognised infection. This is because men who don't know they have HIV may be less likely to use condoms than men who know they are positive. Both of these situations are avoidable," he says. "By learning more about the size of the undiagnosed population, and whether this is concentrated among gay and bisexual men with certain characteristics, we can help HIV prevention and testing services target their work more effectively in order to improve our community's health." Like the GAPSS questionnaire, collection of saliva specimens will be voluntary and anonymous. A small pad is simply placed by the gum while completing the short GAPSS survey in private. After three minutes, this is sealed in a container and tested for HIV antibodies later at a laboratory. No-one who gives a specimen will be able to be identified, and for this reason participants won't be given their results. "Men will however be given an information card, so if they are concerned they can get tested later in an appropriate environment," Dr Saxton says. He says gay and bisexual men who believe they know their HIV status – either negative or positive - are being encouraged to take part. "The more men participating in the study, the more we'll be able to compare the experiences of those with and without unrecognised HIV infection." Similar studies have been conducted among MSM overseas, yielding important findings for their communities. "We hope that a large number of men will participate in February, which will allow us to compare the New Zealand experience as a whole with other countries," Dr Saxton says. The oral fluid study will take place at the Get it On! Big Gay Out on Sunday, 13 February, and during the following week in gay bars, saunas and other venues until 20 February. The NZAF is still taking applications from people who wish to be survey recruiters – anyone seeking more information should contact John Rowden at john.rowden@nzaf.org.nzor (09) 306 3420. More information on the oral fluid study is available at https://blogs.otago.ac.nz/oralfluidstudy. The study has received ethics approval from the Northern X Regional Ethics Committee.
Credit: GayNZ Daily News staff
First published: Wednesday, 19th January 2011 - 2:31pm