CDC's HIV Chief Warns of Complacency in AIDS Fight

When a gay man goes to the doctor for HIV screening, it is equally important that he be tested for other STDs, especially since STD/HIV co-infections are increasing, a senior CDC official told a recent meeting of the Atlanta Executive Network, a group for gay and lesbian business leaders.

"Why should a gay man come in for an HIV test and not be tested for gonorrhea and screened for syphilis?" asked Dr. Kevin Fenton, director of the National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention. New STD testing protocols for health care providers could help to reduce these STDs, said Fenton.

A 1999-2004 CDC report showed syphilis cases among men who have sex with men increased by 68 percent, while a separate study showed a rise in syphilis among MSM from 5 percent of total U.S. cases in 1999 to 64 percent in 2004.

Prevention interventions among MSM who do not identify as gay are particularly difficult, said Fenton, who suggested these should especially target black men. "What we are doing is giving a new name to a very old phenomenon, bisexuality," he said.

Alcohol is a forgotten enemy in the AIDS fight, Fenton added. "Nobody really pays attention to the fact that alcohol really has a higher odds ratio for being a risk factor for transmission of HIV," he said, citing the social comfort and prevalence afforded it by the gay community.

With the burden of HIV/AIDS disproportionately hitting men and women of color in the United States, Fenton said CDC will need community and business partners in fighting the disease. "As a government agency, we cannot do this alone," he said.

Back to other news for June 28, 2006

Search the Newsroom archive