FROM: U.S. CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION
Sexual risk lower among U.S. gay and bisexual men who accurately know their HIV status
A new analysis of data from 20 major U.S. cities reveals continued signs of sexual risk among gay and bisexual men, but shows dramatically lower sexual risk among those who accurately know their HIV status. The findings were published today in CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
In 2011, 33 percent of HIV-positive men who have sex with men (MSM) who were unaware of their infection had unprotected anal sex with someone they believed was HIV-negative or whose status they did not know. However, men who accurately knew they were HIV positive were 60 percent less likely to report recent unprotected anal sex with someone of a different HIV status -- with 13 percent reporting this behavior.
Today's report provides an important look at sexual risk within a population hard-hit by HIV across the United States. MSM account for nearly two-thirds of new HIV infections and approximately half of the 1.1 million people nationwide living with HIV. The number of HIV infections has increased annually among MSM in recent years, particularly in young men.
The new analysis reports on data from CDC's National HIV Behavioral Surveillance System, which monitors HIV testing, prevalence, risk behaviors, and access to prevention services among at-risk populations in 20 U.S. cities with a high AIDS burden.
The report also provides an analysis of sexual risk over time, finding that the percentage of MSM reporting unprotected anal sex at least once during the past 12 months grew to 57 percent in 2011 from 48 percent in 2005. While the analysis does not provide information on whether other prevention strategies were being employed, the trend is concerning given the high risk of HIV transmission during anal sex.
"While we remain concerned about potentially increasing levels of sexual risk, it is encouraging to see that risk is substantially lower in those who know they have HIV," said CDC Director Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. "HIV testing remains one of our most powerful tools to reverse the epidemic. Everyone should know their HIV status."
The dramatic reductions in risk among those accurately aware of their status underscore the value of testing, however, 33 percent of MSM overall reported not being tested within the past 12 months. The data suggest that some men may benefit from more frequent testing. Among those tested within the past 12 months, 5 percent of men who reported being negative or not knowing their status were found to be positive as they were tested as part of the survey. The percentage of men who did not accurately know their status dropped depending on how recently they were tested. Among those who had tested negative seven to 12 months earlier, 7 percent were found to be infected at the time of the survey, compared with 4 percent among those tested in the past three months.
"More HIV prevention strategies are available now than ever before," said Jonathan Mermin, M.D., M.P.H., Director of the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention at CDC. "However, these findings are a stark reminder that we cannot afford to undervalue HIV testing. Getting an HIV test at least once a year is essential for gay and bisexual men. Only when a man knows his status can he make the best prevention choices for himself and his partners."
The range of proven HIV prevention options for MSM has expanded in recent years thanks to advances in HIV prevention research. In addition to recognized prevention methods -- reducing the number of sexual partners, using condoms consistently and correctly, and engaging in lower risk sexual behaviors -- several new prevention options can significantly reduce the risk of HIV transmission and acquisition. For example, among people infected with HIV, early initiation of antiretroviral therapy can significantly reduce the risk of transmitting HIV to partners. In addition, for some MSM who are HIV-negative but at high-risk, a daily dose of medication used to treat HIV infection (known as pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP) can reduce the chances of becoming infected. Since no single strategy will provide complete protection, multiple approaches will be needed to reduce new HIV infections.
Preventing HIV among gay and bisexual men is a top priority for CDC, as well as a key component of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy. Through its High Impact Prevention strategy, CDC is working to ensure that resources are directed to prevention activities which will have the greatest impact in reducing HIV infections among gay and bisexual men, including HIV testing efforts.
Showing posts with label GAY. Show all posts
Showing posts with label GAY. Show all posts
Sunday, December 1, 2013
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
U.S. ACTING AIR FORCE SECRETARY RECOUNTS EXPERIENCE AS GAY MEMBER OF DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Acting Air Force Secretary Recounts Journey to Equality
By Amaani Lyle
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, June 25, 2013 - During a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month event at the Pentagon today, the highest-ranking openly gay member of the Defense Department described his experiences witnessing the evolution of the law that banned openly gay service members, from its implementation to its eventual repeal.
Acting Air Force Secretary Eric Fanning noted the significance of Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel kicking off the DOD's pride celebration, as just two years ago, gay and lesbian service members could not openly serve in the military.
Absent an association like DOD Pride to lend support, Fanning described the difficulties and sense of isolation that he and others at the Pentagon endured as the repeal process ran its course. "There were no other open LGBT appointees, and anyone serving openly in uniform was surely in the process of being discharged," he said.
Fanning began working in the Pentagon 20 years ago, a time he described as a personally painful experience as DOD began to implement the law that came to be known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."
"It was a deeply conflicting time for me," the Air Force's top civilian official said. "I was launching a career with strong support from amazing bosses who knew about my personal life. ... I was being given opportunities that were being denied to people just like me. I was working for an institution that discriminated -- against people just like me."
He also recalled how during that time, people spoke about gays and lesbians in "blistering and emotional ways," denigrating them for simply wanting the right to serve their country while being honest about who they were.
Still, Fanning said, the military underwent the difficult process of opening doors to those it previously denied or constrained: women, immigrants looking to prove their patriotism and earn their citizenship, and to gays and lesbians.
"At times, it seemed agonizingly slow, or even that we were losing ground," Fanning said. "But never once did we doubt we were on the right path."
Relying on the diverse talents of a broader pool of people who are willing and able to serve has fortified the military, Fanning explained. "We are stronger for looking more like the society we are charged with protecting, and we are today ... the finest military the world has ever known," he said.
In the two years leading up to the repeal of "Don't Ask Don't Tell," the debate had a remarkably different tone, due in great part to the support of the president and the then-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Navy Adm. Mike Mullen.
"I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens," the admiral testified before Congress. "It comes down to integrity -- theirs as individuals and ours as an institution."
Looking back to almost two decades earlier as a junior aide, Fanning said, he could never imagine having a chairman say things like Mullen did.
Fanning said most people had begun to accept the possibility of repeal long before it occurred, though he was fortunate enough to be present when the president signed the historic document.
Among the celebrations and congratulations, he said, many supporters asked what it was like to be in the Pentagon after the repeal.
"I answered honestly, and I think disappointingly, that ... we went back to the building, and in my view, the building had already moved on past the decision and we talked about what we talk about every single day: the budget," he said in a deadpan tone.
Fanning also said he's received a bit of attention since he was nominated to be undersecretary of the Air Force -- not all of it welcome, some quite negative, and some that he described as "rather imaginative."
"Many have speculated as to my agenda, what color I'll paint the planes, what designs I have on the uniforms," he said. But like almost everyone else, he added, he remains focused on simply doing his job, and chiding comments are dwarfed by the outpouring of support he's received in and out of the Pentagon.
"It reminds me that, as important as events like this are for our community, they're also important opportunities for our allies to identify themselves and to let us know they're right alongside us," Fanning said. "Events like this give voice not just to us, but to those who support us."
Acting Air Force Secretary Recounts Journey to Equality
By Amaani Lyle
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, June 25, 2013 - During a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month event at the Pentagon today, the highest-ranking openly gay member of the Defense Department described his experiences witnessing the evolution of the law that banned openly gay service members, from its implementation to its eventual repeal.
Acting Air Force Secretary Eric Fanning noted the significance of Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel kicking off the DOD's pride celebration, as just two years ago, gay and lesbian service members could not openly serve in the military.
Absent an association like DOD Pride to lend support, Fanning described the difficulties and sense of isolation that he and others at the Pentagon endured as the repeal process ran its course. "There were no other open LGBT appointees, and anyone serving openly in uniform was surely in the process of being discharged," he said.
Fanning began working in the Pentagon 20 years ago, a time he described as a personally painful experience as DOD began to implement the law that came to be known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."
"It was a deeply conflicting time for me," the Air Force's top civilian official said. "I was launching a career with strong support from amazing bosses who knew about my personal life. ... I was being given opportunities that were being denied to people just like me. I was working for an institution that discriminated -- against people just like me."
He also recalled how during that time, people spoke about gays and lesbians in "blistering and emotional ways," denigrating them for simply wanting the right to serve their country while being honest about who they were.
Still, Fanning said, the military underwent the difficult process of opening doors to those it previously denied or constrained: women, immigrants looking to prove their patriotism and earn their citizenship, and to gays and lesbians.
"At times, it seemed agonizingly slow, or even that we were losing ground," Fanning said. "But never once did we doubt we were on the right path."
Relying on the diverse talents of a broader pool of people who are willing and able to serve has fortified the military, Fanning explained. "We are stronger for looking more like the society we are charged with protecting, and we are today ... the finest military the world has ever known," he said.
In the two years leading up to the repeal of "Don't Ask Don't Tell," the debate had a remarkably different tone, due in great part to the support of the president and the then-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Navy Adm. Mike Mullen.
"I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens," the admiral testified before Congress. "It comes down to integrity -- theirs as individuals and ours as an institution."
Looking back to almost two decades earlier as a junior aide, Fanning said, he could never imagine having a chairman say things like Mullen did.
Fanning said most people had begun to accept the possibility of repeal long before it occurred, though he was fortunate enough to be present when the president signed the historic document.
Among the celebrations and congratulations, he said, many supporters asked what it was like to be in the Pentagon after the repeal.
"I answered honestly, and I think disappointingly, that ... we went back to the building, and in my view, the building had already moved on past the decision and we talked about what we talk about every single day: the budget," he said in a deadpan tone.
Fanning also said he's received a bit of attention since he was nominated to be undersecretary of the Air Force -- not all of it welcome, some quite negative, and some that he described as "rather imaginative."
"Many have speculated as to my agenda, what color I'll paint the planes, what designs I have on the uniforms," he said. But like almost everyone else, he added, he remains focused on simply doing his job, and chiding comments are dwarfed by the outpouring of support he's received in and out of the Pentagon.
"It reminds me that, as important as events like this are for our community, they're also important opportunities for our allies to identify themselves and to let us know they're right alongside us," Fanning said. "Events like this give voice not just to us, but to those who support us."
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