Internet Fuels Risky Sex in Gay, Bisexual Men -- Study

Yesterday at CDC's 2005 National HIV Prevention Conference in Atlanta, researchers presented a Colorado study finding that gay and bisexual men who meet partners over the Internet are more likely to engage in risky sex with people of the same HIV status.

According to the Denver Public Health Department, 41 percent of men who arranged to have sex with other men through the Internet reported having unprotected anal intercourse with their last partner. That finding compared with 31 percent of men who met partners in gay bathhouses, 29 percent who used other public sex venues, and 25 percent of those who met in bars or at parties, according to data collected from an STD clinic in Denver in 2003-2004.

The study also found that 51 percent of men who used the Internet to meet chose a partner of the same HIV status, as opposed to 20 percent of bathhouse patrons. However, coupled with two other studies suggesting many HIV-positive gay and bisexual men decide to have sex based on viral load counts, the findings prompted warnings from health officials.

"Many men who have sex with men may falsely believe that these strategies will protect them from HIV infection," said Dr. Ronald Valdiserri, deputy director of HIV, STD and TB prevention programs at CDC.

Viral load counts can become outdated and are no guarantee that HIV is not present in some body fluids. Partners can be exposed to other STDs or to another strain of HIV, resulting in a super-infection.

Gay and bisexual men make up 45 percent of the 1,039,000 to 1,185,000 Americans with HIV, making them the largest single infected group, said CDC.

Back to other news for June 16, 2005