We’re really trying to wrap our heads around this statistic, because it’s off the deep-end of troubling. “A new analysis released Wednesday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention,” relays D.C. Agenda, “shows that the rate of new HIV infections among men who have sex with men, also referred to as MSM, is more than 44 times greater than that of other men and 40 times greater than that of women. The study also shows that the rate of primary and secondary syphilis among MSM is more than 46 times that of other men and more than 71 times that of women.” This is not going to bode well for activists hoping to halt the branding of AIDS as “the gay disease.” But then we read about the CDC’s tally about the total number of gay men in America:
“Based on an analysis of nationally representative surveys, CDC estimated that MSM comprise 2.0 percent (range: 1.4-2.7 percent) of the overall U.S. population aged 13 and older, or 4 percent of the U.S. male population (range 2.8-5.3 percent),” says the summary statement. It says the analysis found that the range of new HIV diagnoses per 100,000 MSM was 522 to 989. By comparison, newly diagnosed HIV cases came to just 12 per 100,000 for other men and 13 per 100,000 for women. For syphilis, the range of newly diagnosed cases for MSM was 91 to 173 cases per 100,000 compared to 2 per 100,000 for other men and 1 per 100,000 for women.
And that’s not going to bode well for gays insisting that 1 in 10 people in the bar they’re cruising are gay.
So thanks, Obama administration, for pointing out how gross we are!
J.P.
There is very little hope of de-branding HIV/AIDS as a “gay disease”. That is how middle class media and middle class America work. The brand is easy. It doesn’t require any effort. It doesn’t matter what the HIV/AIDS statistics say about sub-Saharan Africa or about India.
And what does the fact that it is the Obama Administration have to do with anything?!? It’s like your trying to blame Obama for what the CDC’s statistics. Like he’s some diabolical puppetmaster pulling their strings.
Is Glenn Beck writing this blog today??
Dick Mills
I think it’s important to point out that everyone (gay and straight) must take measures to protect themselves from HIV. The CDC, in my opinion, does tend to be a bit alarmist though – especially toward gay men. And, arguably, they should be. But, if they were to put that same “44 times” statistic up against the same measure from years gone by, what would become very apparent is that in the past is was much, much higher.
And, while the “44 times” is alarming, the trend is also equally as alarming, in that it shows that AIDS is quickly becoming a big problem for everyone, not just gay men. And, while gay men are being admonished to be tested for HIV, heterosexuals are pretty much being ignored. The fact that HIV infection has few symptoms for the first several years of infection, coupled with the fact that heterosexuals are not being warned, and consequently are less inclined to be tested, could also be skewing the results.
Bottom line, promiscuous behavior both among gays and straights, is what puts one in a high-risk category – not merely the fact that one is gay.
terrwill
“You are all Diseased”: Fcuk you very much Queerty!
RBYapok
Okay, let’s all calm down.
I’ve worked in HIV Prevention for 16 years. HIV has been so far de-gayed that not enough funding and focus has gone to gay/bi men. The Bush admin didn’t even want to acknowledge we were part of the epidemic.
Gay men are not being “admonished to be tested” and it’s not about whether everyone can get AIDS. Men who have sex with men, of any identity, still make up the majority of the number of people with HIV/AIDS in the U.S.
Effective HIV prevention targets specific social and cultural populations. For example, the same ads targeting gay men won’t work for straight teens. Materials and programming for African Americans didn’t work with African immigrants.
In the 2011 budget, the Obama administration is requesting the biggest increase in prevention funding (and the first) in ten years. They are finally giving additional funding towards gay/bi men and the first ever funding for prevention targeting the transgender community.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/02/07/administration-funds-new-hiv-prevention-initiative-targeting-gay-and-bisexual-men
People are screwing without condoms. That’s what is fueling these high numbers. Not being gay or bi, not promiscuity (whatever that means). It’s barebacking and a generation raised with abstinance-only-until-marriage in health class. It’s drug & alcohol use and abuse histories and easy access to sex via the internet and a whole lot of other causes.
This kind of specifically targeted HIV information and education efforts are a good thing.
ben doverr
Queerty, could we ask you a simply enormous favor and edit that headline a tad?
I’m sure you didn’t intend to be that offensive to your readers. But it did turn out that way.
And the last two sentences just seem very disjointed and nonsensical.
romeo
Never bareback. Period.
It’s been my motto since day one, and I stick to it. Don’t like being preachy, but we owe it to ourselves and each other until there’s a cure.
Enron
Seriously, Gay men need to wise up. I realize the problem is the live for today mentality. A lot of young men in their late teens and 20’s feel invincible, but don’t realize that, one day, you are gonna get old, and you can eventually die. Catching HIV only speeds up the process.
Another problem is influence, the idea of bareback being all natural, feels better along with it being easily accessible to young folks. I will admit, bareback sex certainly turns me on, but I realize, its a big risk that I will never play. Young folks believe, other young folks can’t have HIV, only the old bear types who are from the 80’s, this is a newer safer generation.
This leads to better education and awareness needed. I think television, the Internet and groups specifically focusing on Gay men who have that urge to feel flesh need to be targeted. Condoms need to be more available and educating that, yes, no matter how, healthy, muscular, ripped, big pretty tool that guy has and how much he says he’s safe, he could be the biggest HIV carrier the planet has ever seen, so, always, no matter what, be on the safe side.
I can understand too that the desperation of wanting to be with another gay guy sometimes takes precedence over being safe. You would rather have those few moments of ecstasy rather stay healthy for the rest of your life.
NicholasB
I 18 and gay and i havent had sex or kissed or hugged EVER
so the title of this post is insulting and the idea of saying gays have more aids then straights is also insulting because what about those kids born to familys of straights that have aids because they do they dont get counted and then there is more that dont go see a doctor peiod. So we cant say its a huge jump for gays with aids but we cant deny gays have it BUT it is NOT!!!!!! the gay diaese.
terrwill
@NicholasB: Curious, why the no sex and or interaction with anyone?
Enron
I think another reality that needs to be preached, is the medication is crap. Although it pro-longs the life of millions of people living with HIV, the point needs to be made, that’s not something you want to be in your life, waking up everyday taking a cocktail of 30 pills just to live to see the next and the possibility that the meds might not work and you need to change again.
We need to kill this hope and dream and stupid conspiracy that there is a cure, or one exist but the Government is hiding it from the world. With the recent revelation that the disease lives in bone marrow, and it probably would require you dying for doctors to eradicate it from your body, should be a serious wake up call that you need to stop putting yourself and others at risk.
What this HIV thing in the Gay community also reveals is that there are lot of cruel people in it. You choose to have multiple sex partners, do the bareback tango, but you can’t stop and say to yourself, “Why am I putting myself and others at risk?”
Daniel
Of course what the CDC&P (better named the Centers for Data Corruption & Propaganda) is that those “surveys” only reflect people willing to self-identify on a survey that they are gay, lesbian, or bisexual. Polls and surveys are only as good as the freedom with which respondents feel they can answer truthfully – and in America human rights are violated in most states and most GLB people do not live in a state that provides an environment in which to answer truthfully (results in countries that do protect human rights better have higher results on such polls and surveys).
RichardR
@RBYapok: Thanks RBY and Dick Mills for useful, reasonable responses.
As important as are issues like DADT, ENDA, and DOMA, I don’t think there’s anything more important or urgent for us as a community to accomplish than to bring down this new infection rate.
Safer sex, condoms, safer sex, condoms. We can’t assert it too often.
I’d really like to know, as Dick Mills points out is the case, how this alarming “44” number does indeed compare to years past. I’m not a clever researcher, so I wonder how accesssible some data might be to refute the naysayers. One would like to be able to say something like, “Yes, the new infection rate among gay men is alarmingly high, but it is lower than in the past. For example . . ..”
Regarding drug use, I’ve been most encouraged to read that crystal meth use is declining. I’d hope that lower infection rates would accompany that.
Timothy
This isn’t particularly surprising.
About 3/4 of 1% of gay men are infected with HIV every year. Cumulatively, about 12% of gay men are HIV positive.
Yes, that is a very large and frightening number, but it IS NOT the same as “You are all diseased”. Not even close.
NicholasB
@terrwill: because im so fat and ugly and gross everyone looks at me and thinks im a pedofile (that and being gay they said thats clear signs of pedofiles)
so no gay man loves me which is why im saving up for surgiers
kudo451
Frankly I think the CDC us about the only organization that shows any sensitivity in the issue at all. At least they know enough about sociology and sexuality to label the group as “Men who have sex with men” and not necessarily Homosexuals. The problem with the media and most people is that they assume that the MSM description only fits homosexuals when it also includes men who are bisexual, those who might have a sexual addiction, those who may not be homosexual at all but have sex with men for the purpose of prostitution or for some other gain, and those in extreme situations where they have little choice but to have sex with men or have no sex at all, like prison). All of these situations are high risk and they also happen to be situations where people choose to active put themselves at higher risk, but that doesn’t make them all gay.
Patty Mouth
@NicholasB: Hey, Good luck to you! It’s tough to young, gay and obese – that was me, once. But there is hope for you – and there is someone out there for you too. Hang in there, young man.
jason
I find the wording of this headline exceedingly homophobic. It suggests that merely being gay in orientation pre-disposes you to HIV. What a load of shit!!
As a gay man who is responsible and monogamous with another responsible and monogamous partner, my chance of catching HIV is zero. I resent the notion that I am 44 times more likely to catch HIV.
The problem with these statistical statements is that they assign a paradigm based on randomness (which is what statistics represent) to a non-random event (the catching of HIV). It is totally wrong to do this.
Dick Mills
“About 3/4 of 1% of gay men are infected with HIV every year. Cumulatively, about 12% of gay men are HIV positive.”
That isn’t exactly how it works. If you look at the CDC data, their research suggests that currently about 300,000 MSM are living with HIV/AIDS. If this new estimate of the number of MSM in the us is correct, and we take a moderate midpoint of 3% of the population is MSM, then 300,000 of 9,000,000 (rough 3% of 300 million) works out to 3.33% of MSM are living with HIV/AIDS. And, because of that the CDC regularly admonishes GAY MEN TO BE TESTED. Any suggestion to the contrary is a lie. And, gay men do, relative to the rest of the population, get tested much more often.
When 95% of the straight population doesn’t get tested because they don’t think they are at risk, then they are grossly underrepresented in the totals. HIV doesn’t manifest symptoms for many years after infection. Infected straight persons in the population can easily spread the disease without ever knowing they are, and no one will know until many years later.
HIV is NOT a GAY disease, it is a sexually transmitted disease. Unprotected anal sex is one way to transmit it, but unless one has unprotected sex with an infected person, there is zero chance of transmitting the disease. Those who engage in promiscuous sexual behavior (MULTIPLE SEXUAL PARTNERS) or sex with partners who are promiscuous, MUST PROTECT THEMSELVES. And, it is always better to protect one’s self, rather than take a chance.
Also, currently in the US, there are about 300,000 STRAIGHT men and women who are living with HIV/AIDS, according to those same CDC statistics. As a percentage of the straight population, that is very small, but that the heterosexuals are much less inclined to be tested, that number may be grossly under representing the magnitude of the problem.
Fitz
Queerty’s attempt at being droll reads like what the staff here really are: a bunch of homophobic fagots. The kind that it’s totally ok to bash the shit out of.
Brian
Have you heard there are more prostitutes in cities with more priests? It’s a false correlation. In larger cities of course you’re going to have more of both. The point is…
The statistics are incomplete. Gay men are more likely to get an HIV test than any other population. Therefore you will see more gay people receiving positive results.
But there’s always an agenda in publishing statistics.
In order to complete the report they need to report the percentage of the heterosexual population was tested versus the populations of IV drug users and homosexuals. They should also determine how many of the homosexual and heterosexual sero-positives are IV drug users. You will see that the population is skewed. How can the data be accurate.
They should also publish the methods the tests were given, the standards to interpret the tests (different agencies interpret test results differently so therefore you can be positive at one place and negative at another) and the questionnaire given to the test takes and the rate of false positives/negatives.
NicholasB
@Patty Mouth: everyone says im not fat though but there lying
im 6 foot 4inches
at 250
thats fat
TheProfessor
Just go into sites like Manhunt and Adam4Adam, and you will see how many people either say positive or do not put anything down. And that is, the ones who do! Soooo many lie. It is really sad that after all we went through in the 80s, we have not learned much, and the new generations are oblivious.
Marianne
I don’t know how they can even tell someone is infected by HIV. The literature for the ELISA and Western Blot both say that a positive result does not signify infection. And a PCR “viral load” test is not approved for diagnosis.
The Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons has an interesting article about this this month: http://www.jpands.org/vol15no1/bauer.pdf
Patty Mouth
@NicholasB: Think that’s fat? Try 283 at 5 foot 7 inches. That was really fat. Now I’m old and still a little pudgy at 160, but I’ve had a reasonably happy life, all in all. Getting some weight off will help you, health-wise. The surgeries have been successful for many people, just remember, it is not a magic pill. You still have to change the way you eat, exercise, etc. To weigh 250 when you’re 6 ft 4 doesn’t strike me as all that fat. Depends a lot on how you carry it, how much is muscle, how you’re built, etc. Good luck!
Sam
“And that’s not going to bode well for gays insisting that 1 in 10 people in the bar they’re cruising are gay.”
A lot more than 1 in 10 of the guys I cruise in bars are gay. ‘Cause I cruise in gay bars. Ups my chances considerably.
romeo
Yeah, Sam, I wondered about that statistic. I think they were trying to say something else.
NicholasB: Your height to weight ratio is not that bad. Do you work out? If not, start. Also, look into changing your eating habits. You don’t have to change food that much, just find some new stuff THAT’S GOOD FOR YOU. I don’t think a Doctor is going to perform surgery for your weight ratio. If friends say things like “you’re a pedophile” then dump those friends. They’re assholes. Now, as for no gay man loving you, you’re just 18 and just getting started. Relax. Love yourself first. The way other people see you depends a lot on the way you see yourself.
Good luck, man. We’ve all been there.
Henry H. Bauer
Gay men have tested “HIV-positive” at rates that are an order of magnitude or two higher than for, say, Army personnel, ever since the beginning of the “AIDS era”. What seems so little understood is that this does NOT reflect relative rates of irresponsible sexual behavior because
1. HIV tests do not in themselves detect HIV infection, have never been approved for that purpose, and have a high rate of “false positives” and cross-reactions with other conditions EVEN WHEN SO-CALLED CONFIRMATORY TESTS ARE USED
Henry H. Bauer
SORRY: SENT IN ERROR BEFORE COMPLETING
Gay men have tested “HIV-positive” at rates that are an order of magnitude or two higher than for, say, Army personnel, ever since the beginning of the “AIDS era”. What seems so little understood is that this does NOT reflect relative rates of irresponsible sexual behavior because
1. HIV tests do not in themselves detect HIV infection, have never been approved for that purpose, and have a high rate of “false positives” and cross-reactions with other conditions EVEN WHEN SO-CALLED CONFIRMATORY TESTS ARE USED; see
Press Release: “A positive routine ‘HIV test’ is likely to be a false positive, scientist explains”, 2010/03/09
http://wp.me/p8Qhq-lP
2. A positive HIV-test may OR MAY NOT reflect a threat to health. Most pertinent for gay men: certain practices that are generally thought of as hygienic, like rectal douching, actually enhance the chances of testing poz through damaging the intestinal microflora that are the first defense established by the immune system; see http://hivskeptic.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/gay-relatedintestinaldysbiosis.pdf
chloe
@J.P.: http://www.Pozspaces.com is a singles dating site for individuals who may be HIV positive or have AIDS. We understand that living with this virus/disease can be difficult when it comes to dating. We want to provide the opportunity for those living with the virus or disease to meet others in an environment where sharing this information is acceptable and comforting.
uffda
Truth hurts. But the fact is, it’s true.
Time to AIDS up baby!
HIV Symptoms
There is no single or simple solution for reducing HIV and syphilis rates among gay and bisexual men.
But with education and awareness anybody can help.
jason
The “HIV causes AIDS” notion has been the biggest con ever. We’ve been manipulated and fooled by scientists and medical practitioners alike.
AIDS does exist but it isn’t caused by HIV. HIV has been around for thousands of years, and is present in many individuals, including healthy people who will never get AIDS.
The reason AIDS was seen in Western populations in the early 1980’s is because an extremely hedonistic sub-culture of gay men had perfected the art of destroying one’s immune system through a combination of poor nutrition, promiscuous anal sex, acquisition of an assortment of venereal disease, late-night partying and hence unbalancing of the circadian rhythm, and abuse of amyl nitrate and other drugs.
Amyl nitrate abuse causes Karposi’s sarcoma. The rest contribute to the “perfect storm” of immune system destruction. AIDS truly is a lifestyle condition, not a viral disease.
B. Carter
Ah huh. More wonderful numbers calculation twisted and bent out of shape. Quite ironically one can witness vast inconsistencies like this plaguing HIV research throughout recent history: Like this recent study from Australia, which notes that risk of transmission for MSM is the same today as it was in pre-HAART/Anti-HIV medicine era. http://www.hivandhepatitis.com/recent/2010/0312_2010_b.html
So what’s changed? Nothing! Except the irresponsible news media playing it’s role in the continuation of mass hypnosis and propaganda.
B
No. 20 · Brian wrote, “But there’s always an agenda in publishing statistics.”
In the case of the CDC, the “agenda” is to provide useful information for medical professionals. Keep in mind that the article QUEERTY linked to was a reporter’s very short summary, and the CDC is not responsible for what members of the press decide to write.
Brian’s also wrote, “In order to complete the report they need to report the percentage of the heterosexual population was tested versus the populations of IV drug users and homosexuals. They should also determine how many of the homosexual and heterosexual sero-positives are IV drug users. You will see that the population is skewed. How can the data be accurate.”
http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/surveillance/united_states.htm contains charts showing the breakdown of total infections and new infections (as of 2006). It includes cases due to male-male sexual contact, injection drug use, high-risk hetersexual contact, and male-to-male sexual contact with injection drug use.
http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/surveillance/resources/reports/2007report/default.htm has data for 2007.
Klarth
@Enron: #7: good point.
Tom
so thanks, Obama administration, for pointing out how gross we are!
That is really offensive. Its not something that happens on purpose. We did not ask for disease. I dont think anyone wanted the black plague or whatever but the disease exists. Noone is gross. your gross for making that statement and shouldn’t even be part of the gay community with that kind of thinking.
hookemhorns
Homosexuals have been known for three things. 1. Carriers of the AIDS virus 2. There offended over everything! there offended that im offended and your dogs offended and your neighbor down the street is offended and that there offended that there offended. And lastly well i guess that pretty much sums it up.
kae
the reason for this is pretty simple – a sub-culture of barebacking. a plethora of websites and blogs dedicated to barebacking; sex parties; guys who boast about how many loads they took last night; breeders; seeders; guys looking to get poz’d up etc etc. it is no surprise that hiv is on the increase. Women do not behave like men (not least because sex with anonymous men is dangerous for women) hence lower hiv spread among heteros. yes, it is there but in much smaller numbers per head of population. Coupled with the fact that it is harder to transmit hiv from receptive to active partner i.e. from female to male than male to female. And straight men don’t tend to have anal sex with men (i’m not talking MSM).
Promiscuity isnt really the issue – its “concurrency”, “core” sexual partners and sexual networks which are the risk factors. Serial monogamy is much less likely to result in hiv infection than concurrency i.e. “Concurrent relationships involve having more than one sexual partner in a given period and going back and forth between them. This increases the probability for transmission, because earlier partners can be infected by later partners. Further, they can serve as “nodes”, connecting all persons in a dense cluster, creating highly connected networks that facilitate transmission. Concurrent partners can connect each of their respective clusters and networks as well. Concurrency alone can fuel an epidemic even if the average number of partners is relatively low”. See http://www.caps.ucsf.edu/pubs/FS/networks.php
moco25
It’s the combination of bareback + drugs + alcohol + those with HIV who lie, claim they’re “healthy” and carelessly or deliberately try to spread the disease is the real reason it’s higher in the gay community than straight. We’ve all heard stories of “spreaders”…I know I have, I had a friend who was raped by a man after he got him drunk and got him infected…I’ve talked to many others online who’ve had or heard of similar experiences. I once witnessed a guy, who my friend knew for a fact was HIV+, who hosted an afterhours and proceeded to sleep around with several guys multiple times the same night…then rudely kicked everyone else out when he was “satisfied”…
moco25
Jason, you are a complete misinformed fool! HIV IS a virus, it destroys the immune system….so that when you get a cold or flu or something else, it turns into AIDS and you can die from what ordinarily, someone would be able to fight off with a healthy immune system. You’re the type of person who helps continue the spread of the disease with your ignorance. HIV/AIDS came out of Africa…Uganda to be more specific (they believe), where the percentage of those with HIV is much higher than other locations. It’s believed to have come from chimps/monkey blood that infected humans who likely ate then…that’s the current theory…I also read years ago that it may have come from eating the monkey brains, but nevertheless, it clearly came from primates coming into contact with humans as many other diseases we’ve had problems with originated from animals…bird flu, MERS, mad cow, etc. From Africa it was believed to have been spread by a French gay male flight attendant…or so the story goes…
moco25
@hookemhorns: True, they don’t like to talk about it….another reason HIV is so prevalent in the gay community…
moco25
@terrwill: Maybe he lives in Timbuktu, maybe he’s waiting for the right guy, he’s 18, give him a break….