Age at First Anal Sex and HIV/STI Vulnerability among Gay Men in Australia

via bmj.com, by Anthony Lyons

ABSTRACT

Objectives To determine whether there is a link between age at first anal intercourse (AFAI) and gay men's HIV/sexually transmissible infection (STI) vulnerability, including tendencies to engage in higher risk sexual behaviour.

Methods A nationwide cross-sectional survey was conducted online involving 845 Australian gay men born between 1944 and 1993.

Results Median AFAI fell from 35 years for men born between 1944 and 1953 to 18 years for men born between 1984 and 1993. Of those who reported having had anal intercourse (N=822), HIV-positive men were found to be significantly younger on average when they first had anal intercourse compared with HIV-negative men (18.5 vs 21.3 years, p<0.001). Men with a history of other STIs were also significantly younger. Engaging in higher risk sexual behaviour is a likely factor, with AFAI generally younger among men who reported >10 sexual partners in the past year (p<0.001) and who engaged in group sex (p<0.001), receptive anal intercourse (p=0.008) or were drug or alcohol affected (p=0.06) during their most recent sexual encounter.

Conclusions There appears to be a strong link between AFAI and infection with HIV/STIs, as well as tendencies to engage in higher risk sexual behaviour. While further research is needed to understand this link, these findings highlight a need for sexuality education aimed at gay-identified youth to ensure their sexual debut does not lead to poorer sexual health outcomes.

Read the rest.


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*Join IRMA's robust, highly-active. moderated, global listserv addressing rectal microbicide research and advocacy as well as other interesting new HIV prevention technologies by contacting us at rectalmicro@gmail.com. Joining our listserv automatically makes you a member of IRMA - a network of more than 1,100 advocates, scientists, policy makers and funders from all over the world.

*Please look for us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/InternationalRectalMicrobicideAdvocates, and you can follow us on Twitter: @rectalmicro.

*Also, please note that shared news items from other sources posted on this blog do not necessarily mean IRMA has taken any position on the article's content.
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Join IRMA and Partners for Dynamic Microbicides 2012 Advocates’ Pre-conference!

Please join us for this dynamic pre-conference….


Advocacy in a New Prevention Landscape:

BUILDING OUR KNOWLEDGE AND CAPACITY FOR EFFECTIVE ADVOCACY
AROUND HIV PREVENTION RESEARCH AND IMPLEMENTATION


Timing: Sunday 15 April 2012, 0830 to 1600
Venue: Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre, Darling Harbour, Sydney

 

M2012 offers new opportunities and challenges to advocates across the world involved and/or interested in advocacy around microbicides and other HIV prevention research and rollout. We have new tools to consider in HIV prevention with the exciting results from PrEP and treatment as prevention trials - and yet confusing results from the early termination of the FEM-PrEP trial and the microbicide gel and tenofovir tablet arms of the VOICE study. What does this mean for communities and how does it affect the work we do as advocates?

The African Microbicides Advocacy Group, AVAC, the Global Campaign for Microbicides, IRMA (International Rectal Microbicides Advocates), the New HIV Vaccine & Microbicide Advocacy Society and local Australian partners ACON and AFAO will hold a day-long pre-conference workshop on Sunday, April 15. The M2012 Advocates' Pre-Conference Workshop will begin at 08:30 and conclude by 16:00, ensuring participants have ample time to get to the M2012 opening ceremony. The workshop will be held at the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre, and lunch will be provided.


The goal of the workshop is to equip new and experienced advocates, community representatives, trial staff and others with the tools needed to fully participate in the M2012 Conference by:

• Providing an overview of the field to contextualize the themes and issues presented at M2012;

• Connecting research and advocacy priorities and exploring common goals;

• Building capacity of advocates and trial staff to better engage with emerging issues in the field.


The pre-conference workshop will feature seasoned advocates and researchers from the HIV prevention research field who will provide participants with updates and previews to topics to be presented at the conference. An array of thematic discussion and skills-building sessions will be conducted including an update on key issues in the field, influencing relevant country policies and processes, prevention research literacy and ethics, and training on advocacy and campaign building.


Registration for this workshop is free for all interested participants but has limited space so registration will be offered on first-come first-served basis.


Registrations will be accepted through 23 March 2012 or until we have reached capacity.


To register – please fill this registration form at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/39SPS5P. If you have any questions or having problems with the registration form, please write to M2012AdvocatesPrecon@gmail.com.


Organizers: AMAG, AVAC, GCM, IRMA and NHVMAS with Australian Partners ACON and AFAO


[If an item is not written by an IRMA member, it should not be construed that IRMA has taken a position on the article's content, whether in support or in opposition.]

Microbicides 2012 Conference Now Open for Registration!

M2012 Registration is Open!

"To share in the latest developments in HIV prevention through microbicides and other technologies, this is the conference to attend. The conference is the key event in the microbicides world, where cutting edge research will be presented by world experts, and you will have a chance to interact with people involved at every level of microbicides development "

-Professor John Kaldor, The Kirby Institute and Conference co-Chair

Come to Sydney in April for the 2012 International Microbicides Conference - 'From Discovery to Delivery', with state of the art plenary lectures on microbicides and other aspects of HIV prevention research, cross-disciplinary symposia, oral abstracts, and poster sessions.

M2012 will be a global forum for the presentation and discussion of the latest information on microbicides and oral pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV prevention and their interface with other prevention strategies. There will be a strong emphasis on the role of community in both research and implementation of scientific findings. The conference is interdisciplinary, and will include basic science, pharmacokinetics, formulation and delivery, clinical research, public health, prevention science, and social and behavioural research.

WHY SHOULD YOU COME?
1. LEARN... From experts from around the world who will speak on key issues in HIV prevention technologies.
2. NETWORK... with a cross-disciplinary group of researchers, community representatives and policy makers, to support you in applying new approaches and perspectives in your work.
3. PARTICIPATE... in sessions that will range from state of the art lectures, to debates on hot topics in microbicides development.

Click here to learn more.


[If an item is not written by an IRMA member, it should not be construed that IRMA has taken a position on the article's content, whether in support or in opposition.]

Beliefs associated with unprotected sex are changing among gay men in Australia

via Aidsmap, by Roger Pebody

A study of Australian gay men examining unprotected sex and the beliefs that are associated with it has found that the concept of ‘treatments optimism’ needs to be unpacked. While some men do think that having HIV is less serious than it used to be, there is more of an association between unprotected sex and men believing that treatments have made HIV-positive people less infectious.

But writing in the journal Sexually Transmitted Diseases, the researchers warn that the relationships between information, beliefs and behaviour are not straightforward, with individuals managing risk, desire and pleasure in complex ways.

Soon after the advent of combination therapy, commentators began to explain unprotected sex in gay and bisexual men in terms of ‘treatments optimism’ – the theory that reductions in illness and death had caused men to be less concerned about HIV infection, and so more willing to have unprotected sex. While a number of studies have confirmed an association between beliefs characteristic of treatments optimism and risk behaviour, it is unlikely that such beliefs – held by a minority of men – are sufficient to explain rising infection rates in gay men.

Moreover, there has always been controversy over whether treatment optimism leads to unprotected anal sex, or whether it is a way in which men rationalise their sexual behaviour, after the event.

Read the rest.


[If an item is not written by an IRMA member, it should not be construed that IRMA has taken a position on the article's content, whether in support or in opposition.]

Microbicides 2012 - Abstract and Scholarships Deadline EXTENDED TO FRIDAY 25 NOVEMBER 2011

IMPORTANT UPDATE:

Due to popular demand the deadline for the 2012 International Microbicides Conference abstract submissions and scholarship applications has been extended until Friday 25 November 2011!

Keep in mind that the date is actually November 24 for much of the world.



[If an item is not written by an IRMA member, it should not be construed that IRMA has taken a position on the article's content, whether in support or in opposition.]

2012 International Microbicides Conference (M2012) in Sydney, Australia

The next International Microbicides Conference will be held in Sydney, Australia from April 15-18th, 2012!

Registration
Registration is not yet open, but to submit an expression of interest, please click here. By submitting this, you will be contacted as soon as official registration opens!

Abstract Submission
The 2012 International Microbicides Conference (M2012) invites papers of high quality in the areas of HIV prevention, with a particular focus on microbicides, oral chemoprophylaxis, and their interface with other prevention strategies. The conference is interdisciplinary, and encourages the full involvement of communities and individuals affected by HIV. Abstract submissions will be reviewed by the Scientific Program Committee for content, presentation, timeliness, and current interest of the topic to M2012 participants. Abstracts are welcomed from researchers, program implementers, policy makers, advocates, and community members, and will be considered for inclusion provided they meet the guidelines below.

Please click here to view the abstract submission guidelines.  Authors should submit abstracts no later than 5pm AEST time on Thursday 17 November 2011. Click here for more information and details about uploading your abstract.

Scholarships
Scholarships are available to attend the 2012 International Microbicides Conference (M2012) in Sydney, Australia.

Scholarships will be offered in four categories that have distinct criteria:
1. Research
2. Community
3. Government Official/Public Health Policy
4. Media (Further details to come - Media scholarships will open 23 September)

Scholarship applications are due 5:00 pm AEST on Thursday 17 November 2011.  Click here for more details about scholarships and to apply.

For any other information about M2012 please go to microbicides2012.org.

[If an item is not written by an IRMA member, it should not be construed that IRMA has taken a position on the article's content, whether in support or in opposition.]

2012 International Microbicides Conference Scholarship Opportunity!

via International Microbicides Conference Secretariat

Do you need funding to attend M2012?

The M2012 organisers are pleased to announce that scholarships are available to attend the conference in Sydney, Australia. Scholarships will be offered in four categories that each have distinct criteria:

1. Research
2. Community
3. Government Official/ Public Health Policy
4. Media

Click here to find out how to apply for the scholarship.

For more information please visit the conference website http://www.microbicides2012.org/



[If an item is not written by an IRMA member, it should not be construed that IRMA has taken a position on the article's content, whether in support or in opposition.]

Meet Maheswar Satpathy - A Friendly Rectal Microbicide Advocate

"IRMA develops means and strategies for organizing advocates on this area of research and practice by pooling in people from all paths of life, and does offer a very sound platform for sharing views, opinions, and informing key stakeholders in the prevention-focused research and practice." - Maheswar Satpathy, Sydney, Australia

Maheswar Satpathy is originally from Bhubaneswar, Orissa in India. He now lives in Sydney, Australia. He is a trained clinical neuropsychologist, but his interests are broad, including HIV/AIDS prevention and health promotion. At present he is working towards his PhD in Health, Sexuality & Culture at the National Centre in HIV Social Research at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) on a prestigious AusAID's Australian Leadership Awards Scholarship. He is extremely involved in public health, devoting his time to national and international organizations across the globe.

Maheswar was introduced to IRMA by colleague and friend Jim Pickett. He was encouraged to advocate for more innovative bio-medical prevention strategies along with the psycho-social ones he has researched. He believes that rectal microbicides should be emphasized as an important method of prevention which can act as a catalyst in preventing diseases like HIV, and several other health risks like HPV and other sexually transmitted infections.

He is excited to act as an advocate for rectal microbicides and to teach the usage patterns, newer emerging technologies in developing but emerging countries like India, which has the 2nd highest population in the world. He plans to work on health planning programs for effective dissemination, contact key groups for outreach, and lobby for translational bio-medical research in the Indian research centers and universities.

A busy man, whatever free time Maheswar has is spent in reading more books of psychology and literature, advocating for human rights and health issues among the LGBTQI population, and networking among the Civil Society Organizations both in India and Australia.

Read about other friendly rectal microbicides advocates. Newly featured advocates include Daniel Nuñez, Amy Stapleford Jackson, Luis Fernando Galarza, Vanessa Marquez, and Mark Hubbard.

Want to join the best e-mail discussion list on new prevention technologies on the planet? Send a note to IRMA here - rectalmicro@gmail.com - and we will get you signed up.Joining the list makes you an automatic IRMA member too!

[If an item is not written by an IRMA member, it should not be construed that IRMA has taken a position on the article's content, whether in support or in opposition.]

Versatility and HIV Vulnerability: Investigating the Proportion of Australian Gay Men Having Both Insertive and Receptive Anal Intercourse

Lyons A, Pitts M, Smith G, Grierson J, Smith A, McNally S, Couch M.

J Sex Med. 2011 Jan 26. doi: 10.1111/j.1743-6109.2010.02197.x. [Epub ahead of print]

Source of abstract.


Introduction. 

There is a lack of recent data on the extent to which gay men engage in insertive anal intercourse (IAI) and receptive anal intercourse (RAI). Accurate assessments of the overall risk of infection from HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) require such data because versatile men who engage in both roles have heightened vulnerability for becoming infected and infecting others.

Aim. 

To investigate the extent to which gay men are versatile with regard to having IAI and RAI.

Main Outcome Measures. 

Percentages of gay men who reported engaging in IAI, RAI, or both during the past 12 months and in their most recent sexual encounter. Methods.  Eight hundred fifty-six Australian gay men completed an online survey to retrospectively report on their sexual practices over the past 12 months. Results.  Of men who had anal intercourse in the past 12 months, 83% had both IAI and RAI, of whom 57% were highly versatile in that they had approximately equal numbers of partners for IAI and RAI. Of men who had anal intercourse in their most recent sexual encounter, as many as one in five (20%) had reciprocal anal intercourse, having both IAI and RAI with the same partner in a single encounter. Condom use was significantly less likely with reciprocal (38%) than nonreciprocal anal intercourse (50%; P = 0.04). While highly versatile men were less likely to know their HIV status, practices at most recent sexual encounter such as reciprocal anal intercourse and condom use were not significantly related to either their HIV status or that of their partner.

Conclusions. 

Engaging in both IAI and RAI appears to be common among gay men. HIV/STI prevention strategies would benefit from paying attention to the implications of high rates of versatile sexual practices, particularly the tendency for condoms to be used less often when having reciprocal anal intercourse.

[If an item is not written by an IRMA member, it should not be construed that IRMA has taken a position on the article's content, whether in support or in opposition.]

Cheeky! IRMA Chair Chats Up Microbicides, Lube Safety, and No Promo Homo

Rapid HIV testing: Australia's 'big embarrassment'
via SX and CityVoice (Sydney), by Brendan Bolger

...Anal sex could be playing an important role in (heterosexual) HIV transmission. Vulnerable women have unprotected anal sex. Anal sex is used as contraception...

Read the rest.

Report from the Front Lines

This week IRMA's own, Jim Pickett, spoke about the National HIV/AIDS strategy, gay men and, of course, microbicides on Late Night Live, an Aussie radio program with Phillip Adams.

He was joined by Alan Whiteside, the Director of Health Economics and HIV Research Division at the University of KwaZulu Natal, Durban, South Africa and Bill Bowtell, Director of the HIV AIDS Project at the Lowy Institute.

Listen to the program here

Jim Pickett speaks at the Australasian HIV/AIDS Conference 2010

Today AFC Advocacy Director Jim Pickett gave a plenary presentation at the Australasian HIV/AIDS Conference 2010 in Sydney, Australia. His talk, “Yes, There is a Gay Agenda: The need to re-conceptualize HIV prevention in the epidemic’s third decade” was part of the session titled “Re-Thinking Prevention.”

Pickett discussed HIV prevention in the United States context and provided insights into the U.S. Gay Men’s Health Agenda, Chicago’s “How are you healthy?” campaign, the U.S. National HIV/AIDS Strategy, sexual health, and biomedical prevention. Click here to view his slide set.

Yesterday Pickett co-chaired a symposium called “Political, Cultural, and Logistic Realities of Microbicides for Australasia and the Pacific” and sat on a number of panels discussing STI prevention and gay men’s health.

Read more about the Australasian HIV/AIDS Conference 2010 and invited speakers.

Gen Y women facing pressure to have sex

via Sydney Morning Herald, by Mary-Anne Toy

Excerpt:

Melbourne psychologist and sex therapist Sarah Calleja says the bombardment of sexual imagery and concepts through music videos and other media was giving young girls the message that anal sex is common and oral sex is no longer even first base and was encouraging boys to be aggressive sexually.

Read the whole item.

Attitudes towards new HIV biomedical prevention technologies among HIV- gay men

[This paper has important implications for IRMA. It is very interesting to note the researchers found that previous  knowledge of rectal microbicides was significantly associated with unwillingness to participate.]




Abstract via HIV Medicine, December 2009

Attitudes towards new HIV biomedical prevention technologies among a cohort of HIV-negative gay men in Sydney, Australia

IM Poynten 1 , F Jin 1 , GP Prestage 1 , JM Kaldor 1 , J Imrie 2 , and AE Grulich 1

1 National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and 2 National Centre in HIV Social Research, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Correspondence: Dr Mary Poynten, National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research, Level 2, 376 Victoria Street, Darlinghurst, NSW 2010, Australia. Tel: +61 2 9385 0900; fax: +61 2 9385 0920; e-mail: mpoynten@nchecr.unsw.edu.au


Objectives
The aim of the study was to explore the awareness of rectal microbicides, the use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PREP) and the willingness to participate in biomedical HIV prevention trials in a cohort of HIV-negative gay men.

Methods
In a community-based cohort study, HIV-negative homosexually active men in Sydney, Australia were questioned about awareness of rectal microbicides, use of PREP, and willingness to participate in trials of such products. Predictors of awareness and willingness to participate were analysed by logistic regression. Use of PREP was examined prospectively.

Results
Overall, 14% had heard of rectal microbicides. Older (P=0.05) and university-educated men (P=0.001) were more likely to have knowledge of rectal microbicides. Almost one-quarter (24%) of men reported that they were likely/very likely to participate in rectal microbicide trials. Among those men with definite opinions on participation, awareness of rectal microbicides was significantly associated with unwillingness to participate [odds ratio (OR) 0.78, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.65–0.93, P=0.007]. Willingness to participate in trials using antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) to prevent HIV infection was reported by 43% of men, and was higher among those who reported unprotected anal intercourse (UAI) with HIV-positive partners (OR 1.88, 95% CI 0.99–3.56). There was no evidence of current PREP use.

Conclusions
This study demonstrates that Australian gay men have had little experience with PREP use and rectal microbicides. About half would be willing to consider participation in trials using ARVs to prevent HIV infection. Extensive community education and consultation would be required before PREP or rectal microbicides could be trialled in populations of gay Australian men.

Funding for rectal microbicides has DECREASED in two years

According to the latest report just released by the HIV Vaccines and Microbicides Resource Tracking Working Group, funding for rectal microbicides research has decreased significantly in the past 2 years.

When IRMA last tracked resources dedicated to RM research in 2006, we estimated that US$7.2 million was spent globally. According to the report Adapting to Realities: Trends in HIV Prevention Research Funding 2000-2008, released earlier this week, that amount decreased to US$5 million in 2008.

7X more funding needed
In 2006, IRMA called for a five-fold increase in annual funding for rectal microbicide research and development: from about US$7 million to US$35 million per year for the next 10 years. This is what we estimated would be needed – conservatively – to bring at least one effective rectal microbicide through all stages of research.

Now, we need a seven-fold increase from US$5 million to US$35 million.

More diverse funding needed
Nearly 100% of all global investment for rectal microbicides development comes from one source: US public and philanthropic institutions. Most of this US investment comes from the government. While this support is appreciated, a much more diverse funding base is needed.

Where are the governments and research institutions? Where are the foundations?

Australia?
Belgium?
Canada?
Denmark?
France?
Germany?
Ireland?
The Netherlands?
Norway?
Spain?
Sweden?
The UK?
The European Commission?
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation?
The Rockefeller Foundation?
UNFPA?
The World Bank?

All of them have contributed to microbicides research, for which we are eternally grateful. But they should also contribute specifically to rectal microbicide research. The entire rectal microbicides field should not be funded solely by the US NIH and amfAR.

Recognised need
It is ironic that in the same time period that saw rectal microbicides become increasingly recognised as an essential component of HIV prevention research, global investment faltered.

Investment in rectal microbicide development MUST INCREASE at this critical time when the HIV prevention field is more willing than ever to acknowledge the need to address the prevention needs of those who engage in anal sex: heterosexual women and men, gay men and other men who have sex with men from around the world – including in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia-Pacific, Europe and North America.

Funds needed to move research agenda forward
Exciting research projects are ready to move forward: rectal safety trials, rectal-specific formulation work, lubricant safety, acceptability research, research into incidence, prevalence and context of anal intercourse in various populations around the world. More funding is desperately needed to maintain a robust research agenda.

Read IRMA’s 2006 report: Rectal Microbicides: Investments and Advocacy

Read the HIV Vaccines and Microbicides Resource Tracking Working Group report: Adapting to Realities: Trends in HIV Prevention Research Funding 2000-2008

Read IRMA’s 2008 report: Less Silence, More Science: Advocacy to Make Rectal Microbicides a Reality





Join efforts to advocate for more investment in rectal microbicide development!

New research on anal HPV

Sex Transm Infect. 2009 Apr 1.

Anal human papillomavirus genotype diversity and co-infection in a community-based sample of homosexual men.

Vajdic CM, van Leeuwen MT, Jin F, Prestage G, Medley G, Hillman RJ, Stevens MP, Botes LP, Zablotska I, Tabrizi SN, Grulich AE.

University of New South Wales, Australia.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence and risk factors for anal HPV infection in community-based cohorts of homosexual men in Sydney, Australia.

METHODS: A cross-sectional study in consecutively presenting participants in the positive Health and Health in Men cohorts in 2005. HPV testing was performed on anal PreservCyt specimens collected from 316 homosexual men (193 HIV-negative, 123 HIV-positive) using the Digene Hybrid Capture 2 (HC-2) assay for detection of low-risk (LR) and high-risk (HR) genotypes. HPV genotype testing was also performed on a subset of 133 men (93 HIV-negative, 36 HIV-positive) using Roche Linear Array (LA) assay.

RESULTS: HC-2 detected HPV infection in 79% of men (LR 55%, HR 69%). HIV-positive men were more likely than HIV-negative men to have LR- (OR 3.5, 95% CI 2.1-5.7) and HR-HPV (OR 5.5, 95% CI 3.0-10.2). LA detected HPV infection in 95% of men (LR 85%, HR 77%). HIV-positive men had a mean of 7.1 HPV types compared to 4.2 in HIV-negative men; the difference was significant for both LR- (p<0.001)>

CONCLUSIONS: Anal HPV infection was nearly universal in this community-based sample of homosexual men. A wide variety of HPV genotypes was detected, and co-infection with multiple genotypes was common. Anal HPV infection is more prevalent and more diverse in HIV-positive than HIV-negative homosexual men.

Should Gay Men Be Circumcised?

From HIVPlusMag.com...



Findings reported at the Australasian Sexual Health Conference shed new light on male circumcision’s role in preventing HIV infection.

“We have shown for the first time that [men who have sex with men] who predominantly take on the insertive role in sex are less likely to contract HIV if they’ve been circumcised,” said David Templeton from the National Center for HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research in Sydney. He went on to note, however, “Most HIV infections are contracted in the receptive role, so what we’re talking about is a risk reduction for a small group of men who didn’t have a huge risk in the first place.”

In the study, University of New South Wales researchers recruited 1,400 HIV-negative men, two thirds of whom were circumcised. During the four-year study, 53 men acquired HIV. There was no evidence that circumcision reduced the HIV risk among gay men in general. But in looking at the men who predominantly took the insertive role in intercourse, there was an 85% reduction in the risk of HIV infection if they were circumcised. Only seven of the 53 HIV infections occurred among insertive partners; the study’s model indicated that five of these infections could have been avoided if the men had been circumcised.

Templeton was quick to note, however, “That’s only 9% of all HIV infections overall that can be attributed to being uncircumcised, not enough to advocate throwing out condoms or advocating widespread circumcision.”

Indeed, the study’s model projected that circumcising all Australian gay men would prevent 37 infections a year in the first decade and 57 per year by 2030, at a cost of $196 million in the first two years.


What are YOUR thoughts? Leave a comment!

HIV Advocacy from the Ground Up: A Toolkit for Strengthening Local Responses.

As the culmination of phase one of APCASO’s Community Advocacy Initiative, APCASO is pleased to launch its latest publication:

HIV Advocacy from the Ground Up: A Toolkit for Strengthening Local Responses.

A must-click for all advocates!

Abnormal anal cells and high-risk HPV common in HIV-positive Australians

Over two-thirds of HIV-positive patients in an Australian cohort had abnormal cells in the anus, and 84% had anal infection with strains of human papilloma virus (HPV) that are associated with a high risk of anal cancer, according to an Australian study published in the April edition of Sexually Transmitted Infections. The investigators found that infection with high risk HPV was associated with the presence of high-grade pre-cancerous cells and pre-cancerous cells of undetermined, but potentially high-grade, significance.

Anal cancer is a serious condition associated with high rates of illness and death. The prevalence of anal cancer amongst gay men is thought to be similar to that amongst women before screening for cervical cancer was introduced (approximately 35 cases per 100,000). Higher rates of anal cancer have been observed in HIV-positive individuals, (but the condition is still rare in this patient group).

Read the rest on aidsmap.