|
An Aside To DADT, 20 Percent Of Homosexual And Bisexual Men Are HIV Positive
One in five sexually active gay and bisexual men has the AIDS virus, and nearly half of those don't know they are infected, a federal study of 21 U.S. cities shows.Experts said the findings are similar to earlier research, but the study released Thursday is the largest to look at gay and bisexual U.S. men at high risk for HIV. More than 8,000 men were tested and interviewed, and 44 percent of those who had the virus didn't know they had it. Overall, less than half of 1 percent of Americans have the AIDS virus, according to a calculation by the Kaiser Family Foundation, a research and policy organization in Washington, D.C. But gay and bisexual men continue to be infected at much higher rates, said Jennifer Kates, Kaiser's director of global health and HIV policy. "Most people infected with HIV develop antibody levels high enough to be detected by the HlV antibody test within a month. Almost everyone who is infected will have a positive antibody test within 3 months. All people infected with HIV, whether or not they have yet developed enough antibodies to be detected by the test, can spread the virus to others through unprotected sex and needle sharing activities. Pregnant women with HIV can also pass the virus to their babies during pregnancy, delivery or through breastfeeding. "A negative test result indicates that a person is not infected with HIV only if the person has NOT engaged in risky behaviors for three months before the test. A negative test result does not, of course, protect one from HIV infection in the future." However, those in the military with HIV can claim permanent VA benefits to treat their disease. Posted by: Anonymoose 2010-09-24 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=306268 |