Interesting News Story: Highest-ever HIV infections

[bb1991]

Two interesting story in today's news I thought some of you guys might find interesting

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-20526380

And HIV infections in the UK have reached an all time high: higher than in the original AIDs Crisis

Half of all the new infections are gay men (I was surprised only half, but lots of straights don't use condoms either but they are completely unaware of HIV); 1 in 20 gay men have HIV; 1 in 4 don't know they have it

[GreenChaser]

Two interesting stories in today's ...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-20526380

And HIV infections in the UK have reached an ... 1 in 20 gay men have HIV; 1 in 4 don't know they have it

1/20 w 25% unkown = a lot of toxic venom running around the UK- any comments guys? I wonder how many are chasers, gifters, stealthers, etc.

[bb1991]

1/20 w 25% unkown = a lot of toxic venom running around the UK- any comments guys? I wonder how many are chasers, gifters, stealthers, etc.

Well for a bit of a comparison: half of all new HIV infections in the UK are gay men; but gay men make up over two thirds of all new HIV infections in the USA. Also over 50% of new HIV infections in the USA are black people.

1 in 20 gay men in the UK have HIV, but 1 in 5 do in the USA.

25% of HIV positive people in the UK don't know they are infected; it's the same in the USA. However over 50% of under 25s with HIV in the USA (they make up 25% of new diagnoses) don't know they have it.

I can't comment on the US's problems but I would say the problem in the UK is down mainly to lack of education not bug chasing.

Sex education (other than the basic biology of pregnancy) is basically non existent and never really touches on STDs. I remember when I was 16 we had a lesson where the teacher rolled a condom onto a cucumber and talked about the pill and the coil and how not to get pregnant- no mention of STDs- but me and many in the class had already lost our virginities by that point anyway.

Earlier this year the Education Minister even said the Equality Act did not apply in schools, meaning schools can not only not teach gay sex education, it's legal for them to teach homophobic things- as many faith schools do. Sex education in schools is positively backwards.

Sex is legal from 16, but many many loose their virginity before. Girls can go and get the pill without parental permission; it's good they can but it shows the government's focus is to stop teenage pregnancy, not encourage safe sex. As such 1 in 4 young people (aged 16-24 straight and gay) have chlamydia.

Uneducated Youngsters aren't only to blame though. The highest proportion of people getting STDs in the UK are the over 50s; which people normally attribute to the newly divorced who go back onto the market and who have never used condoms or have had potentially 20-30 years of married life never using them. But their sex education would have been even worse back in the 50s/60s - so are probably just as uneducated at the teenagers.

[quad]

Also over 50% of new HIV infections in the USA are black people.

1 in 20 gay men in the UK have HIV, but 1 in 5 do in the USA.

I believe the first statement... but what about the disparity in US/UK. That seems wrong intuitively.... where's the source?

[bb1991]

I believe the first statement... but what about the disparity in US/UK. That seems wrong intuitively.... where's the source?

The 1 in 20 statistic for the UK is on the BBC News article I originally posted

The US 1 in 5 statistics are from the Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/23/AR2010092306828.html

[Alphapig]

Couple of points:-

Article doesn't use "higher than in the original AIDs Crisis"

Nearly half of the 6280 are gay men - that means more heterosexuals were diagnosed

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-20526380

And HIV infections in the UK have reached an all time high: higher than in the original AIDs Crisis

Half of all the new infections are gay men (I was surprised only half, but lots of straights don't use condoms either but they are completely unaware of HIV); 1 in 20 gay men have HIV; 1 in 4 don't know they have it

[bb1991]

Couple of points:-

Article doesn't use "higher than in the original AIDs Crisis"

Nearly half of the 6280 are gay men - that means more heterosexuals were diagnosed

No the article doesn't use that fact

But it is a fact

If it is an ALL TIME HIGH, it is therefore higher than it has ever been... therefore higher than in the original AIDs Crisis...

[einathens]

i read that the biggest rise in US infection is among 13-25 yearolds, and 60% of them don't know they're infected.

those stats were in an article in USA Today.

[ckt]

Sex education (other than the basic biology of pregnancy) is basically non existent and never really touches on STDs.

To be fair, it varies by school. I think we're both the same age, and I had pretty good STD education when I was 14. Even so, me and most of my mates didn't really consider this whole STD thing is something we should actually worry about till our early 20's. First time I had sex we totally glossed over all the safe sex lessons that had been stressed at school. Some of my straight mates still don't seem to give a fuck.