Tijuana’s Gay Guys Are Coming Up HIV-Positive 10% Of The Time

Free HIV testing offered to gay men in Tijuana this month revealed a startling statistic: of the 200 men tested, 20 came up HIV-positive, or 10 percent. And while it’s unclear how many of these men knew their status (“Some of those tested, upon being informed of their infected status, reacted with complete surprise, thinking that HIV infection was possible only if ‘one had been at it for years,’ and that because they were so young it would be impossible for them to be infected”), how many guys do you know that have HIV continue to get tested at street clinics? Lorenzo Herrera María, president of the HIV/AIDS research group Fondo de Asistencia para el SIDA, estimates 15-20 percent of gay men in the region are poz. (Bizarrely, Herrera María also wants to see laws passed making it a crime to infect others “purposefully,” which is such a scam to anyone accused of the crime. He believes it’s an effective tool to cut down on HIV’s spread.)