High HIV Incidence Among Gay Men With Syphilis In The US

US investigators have found a high incidence of recent HIV infection amongst men diagnosed with primary or secondary syphilis. In a study published in the February 1st edition of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes HIV incidence was 11% amongst gay men with early forms of syphilis. The investigators suggest “intensive and integrated HIV/STD testing, care and prevention services are needed for men diagnosed with syphilis.”
Since the late 1990s numerous outbreaks of syphilis have been recorded amongst gay men in industrialised countries. There are concerns that these outbreaks could have implications for the spread of HIV amongst gay men. This is because syphilis infection can be a marker of risky sexual behaviour and because syphilis can facilitate the transmission and acquisition of HIV.
Some research from the US has found a high incidence of HIV amongst gay men with syphilis. To gain a better understanding of the relationship between incident HIV infections and primary and secondary syphilis infection, investigators analysed data from men diagnosed with the sexually transmitted infection at sexual health clinics in Atlanta, Los Angeles and San Francisco between January 2004 – January 2006.
Blood samples used to diagnose syphilis were tested for HIV infection. Samples which were HIV-positive were then further analysed to see if the HIV infection was recent.
A total of 457 cases of syphilis were identified in the three cities, but the investigators restricted their analysis to the 357 men with primary or secondary syphilis. These men had a median age of 35 years and were ethnically diverse (37% white, 30% black and 25% Hispanic). Most of the men (85%) were gay.
Consistent with other research, the investigators found a high prevalence of HIV infection (45%) amongst men with primary and secondary syphilis.
This infection was well-established in most of the men, with 61% having a record of a positive HIV antibody test six or more or a history of antiretroviral therapy six months before their syphilis diagnosis.
But further blood tests showed that eleven men, ten of whom were gay, had evidence of recent HIV infection. The investigators calculated that HIV incidence amongst men with early syphilis was 10% per year for all men and 11% per year for gay men.
Further analysis showed that HIV incidence varied according to age. Amongst men with early syphilis aged under 30 incidence was 14% per year, 8% for men aged 30 – 39, and 5% for men aged 40 and above. Incidence also appeared to differ according to ethnicity, with an incidence of 14% per year amongst white men, 7% amongst black men and 6% amongst Hispanic men.
“In this population of consecutive men diagnosed with early syphilis in STD clinics in Atlanta, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, we found a high incidence of HIV infection during 2004 and 2005,” write the investigators.
The investigators work supports earlier research from the US that found that syphilis outbreaks were concentrated in gay men, many of whom are HIV-positive and were engaging in high-risk sexual behaviours.
“In these sexual networks, HIV-uninfected men acquiring syphilis are simultaneously at a high risk of HIV acquisition for multiple reasons”, suggest the investigators. They go on to explain “recent syphilis infection…facilitates HIV acquisition because syphilitic ulcers disrupt epithelial and mucosal barriers and local inflammation may lead to the recruitment of CD4 target cells to the site of ulceration.”
Furthermore, because these HIV-negative men are sexually active within networks that have a high prevalence of HIV-positive men “their probability of encountering an HIV-infected partner is increased.” Finally, HIV-positive men in these networks with syphilis are more likely to transmit HIV because their “viral load may be elevated in early syphilis infection.”
The investigators recommend that HIV-negative men diagnosed with syphilis should have follow-up appointments at sexual health clinics three and six months after their treatment for syphilis to verify that this treatment was successful and “for repeat HIV antibody testing, risk reduction education, and linkage to HIV care in the event of seroconversion.”
from Aids Map

'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Turns 15

It was 15 years ago, Tuesday, that President Clinton rolled out the policy that came to be known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," which relaxed the long-standing bar against gay men and women serving in the U.S. military. While the move was initially hailed as progress for the rights of gays in the military, today many see it as a liability.
Her Navy career had been "relatively stress-free" before "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" took effect, says Joan Darrah, a retired captain, and a lesbian, who served in various intelligence billets from 1972 to 2002. She kept her sexual orientation secret during her career, but that denial took its toll after "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" led to increased focus on homosexuality in the ranks. She recalls having to administer a survey on the topic to 250 subordinates in the wake of the new policy. "We all sat down taking this survey asking, 'Do you know a gay person, and, if you did, what would you do?' " Dannah recalls. "I was physically sick after I did it — I went into the bathroom and threw up because of the stress of standing in front of the command and saying, 'We're now doing a survey about gays in the military.' "
The issue exploded during Clinton's first week as President, triggered by those in the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill opposed to his campaign pledge to reverse an executive order barring gays and lesbians from serving. "The issue is whether men and women who can and have served with real distinction should be excluded from military service solely on the basis of their status," Clinton said at the time. "And I believe they should not."
While the phrase "don't ask, don't tell" wasn't used at that January 29, 1993, press conference, that's what everyone soon began calling the policy. It boiled down to this: the government would no longer "ask" recruits if they were gay, and so long as military personnel didn't "tell" anyone of their sexual preference — and didn't engage in homosexual acts — they were free to serve. But, by the end of 1993, opponents of the change, led by Georgia Democrat Sam Nunn, who chaired the Senate Armed Services Committee, succeeded in writing into law the ban on openly gay men and lesbians in uniform. Barring the pre-enlistment question about homosexuality "was the only compromise Congress let Clinton get away with," says Elaine Donnelly, president of the non-profit Center for Military Readiness which supports continuing the ban. "The law respects the power of sexuality and the normal human desire for modesty in sexual matters."
Writing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" into law meant that no new President can eliminate the ban without first convincing a majority of Congress to go along — a far higher hurdle than Clinton faced. All the Democratic candidates favor lifting the ban; the GOP candidates support keeping it. "I think President Clinton meant well, but when he set out to implement his vision he ran into a buzz saw," says Aubrey Sarvis, an ex-GI and executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, a nonprofit group dedicating to lifting the ban. "I see very few, if any, good things about 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' — it means you have to lie or deceive every day."
About 12,000 service members have been booted from the military since the law took effect, including dozens of Arabic speakers whose skills are particularly prized by the military since the advent of the war on terror. While the number discharged for their sexuality has fallen from 1,273 in 2001 to 612 in 2006, Pentagon officials insist they are applying the law as fairly as ever. Gay-rights advocates disagree, suggesting the military — pressed for personnel amid an unpopular war — is willing to ignore sexual orientation when recruiting becomes more difficult. Last May, a CNN poll found that 79 percent of Americans feel that homosexuals should be allowed to serve in the military.
But Americans in the military seem less friendly to the idea of junking the ban. A 2006 opinion poll by the independent Military Times newspapers showed that only 30% of those surveyed think openly gay people should serve, while 59% are opposed. "I don't think they'll succeed, but I think they'll try," Donnelly says of the Democrats' efforts to repeal the ban. Darrah, the retired Navy officer, says success depends on who moves into the Oval Office a year from now. "I believe if we get a Democratic president we'll get rid of the ban," says Darrah, who is backing Hillary Clinton's bid for the White House. "The younger generation doesn't care one bit."
from Time Magazine

God Hates Fags At It Again....

from God Hates Fags

R.I.P. Heath Ledger

Teen Swimmers' Photos Put On Gay Sites

SANTA ANA, CALIFORNIA - Several gay adult Web sites have posted photographs of teenage water polo players from several high schools in Southern California, a newspaper reported.
Some of the pictures, of boys as young as 14, were displayed next to photos of nude young men and graphic sexual content, an Orange County Register investigation found.
Parents, coaches and school officials were alarmed, and parents said some of the boys were traumatized and sought counseling.
"These kids don't look at what they do as shameful," said Joan Gould, an international water polo official and a spokeswoman for a group of Orange County water polo parents. "For someone to come in and take what these kids are doing and take it out of context and exploit these images, these kids and their schools, because you can see the school name on the caps, is just horrible."
Police at the University of California, Irvine, confirmed they are investigating whether a campus police dispatcher had photographed the high school athletes for gay-oriented sites. The man had not been charged, and police Chief Paul Henisey said he remained on duty.
"We're looking into the matter," Henisey said. "We're not exactly sure about what we have or what kinds of issues there are."
It was not clear if posting the pictures constituted an offense.
"With free speech and photography, there's a gray cloud in terms of what is legal, constitutional," said state Assemblyman Jose Solorio, chairman of the Assembly Public Safety Committee.
Solorio said he would have the committee investigate the matter.
The Register said it found photos of players from 11 Orange County high schools plus schools in Los Angeles and San Diego counties on several pages of one gay porn site registered to a London address. Photos were also posted on other sites, the paper reported.
from The Associated Press

January Edits

Just One Look...#100