Gay Men May Be Neglecting Safe Sex

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1997. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Gay Men May Be Neglecting Safe Sex

Detroit News (12/29/97)
Hodges, Michael H.

Abstract: Officals from Detroit's Midwest AIDS Prevention Project (MAPP) report that a number of recent statistics indicate that gonorrhea rates among gay men have risen 74 percent nationwide from 1993 to 1996, suggesting that some gay men are not engaging in safe sex. Craig Covey, MAPP's executive director, said, "We've heard anecdotes that some men either think the [protease inhibitors] are wildly successful, or else that they can just take a 'morning-after' cocktail or pill." In fact, some doctors have begun prescribing single doses of the drug cocktails to people that were recently exposed to the virus, believing that administering the cocktail soon after exposure may prevent infection. However, Covey warns, "There is no 'pill.' There are just handfuls of pills with horrendous side effects for weeks." Meanwhile, Perry Halkidis of New York's Gay Men's Health Crisis reports that HIV is spreading rapidly among African-American and Latino gay men. A five-year study that ended in 1994, Halkidis explains, shows that AIDS rates among African-American and Latino gay men rose 31 percent and 39 percent, respectively, while the rate among white gay men fell 31 percent.

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