Over the past decade across high-income countries such as Canada and Australia and regions such as Western Europe an unexpected and disturbing trend has emerged – an increase in syphilis and HIV infections among men who have sex with men (MSM). Now researchers in Israel have found similar trends in HIV in that country. Furthermore, researchers there have found another troubling trend: A significant proportion (about 30%) of MSM newly infected with HIV have strains of this virus that are resistant to some anti-HIV therapies.
The Israeli report, published in the June 1, 2011 issue of the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases has incited an editorial to accompany it that calls out for concerted action to help communities of MSM become more resilient so that they can re-embrace safer-sex behaviours and help reduce the spread of HIV. The editorial cautions against the incorrect assumption made by some MSM that use of potent anti-HIV therapy, commonly called HAART or ART, will render them or their partners sexually non-infectious.
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