SeroSorting is finally be recognized as a legitimate way to prevent the spread of HIV
According to MedicineNet.com,SeroSorting does work and is reducing the incidence of new HIV infection.
According to the MedicineNet.com : “Most men newly infected with HIV (the virus that causes AIDS) choose to have unprotected sex only with other HIV-infected partners, say
U.S. researchers who analyzed data from six clinics in San Francisco,
New York City, Los Angeles, New Haven, San Diego and Providence, R.I.
The study included 27 men with acute HIV infection. This refers to
the one-month period immediately following HIV infection, when a
person tends to have the highest levels of HIV circulating in their
blood. This makes it much more likely they’ll infect a partner during
unprotected sex.
More than 90 percent of the patients in the study were men who have
sex with men.
“While the findings showed condom use was up and the number of
partners was down, the most startling effect was seen in men choosing
to have unprotected intercourse almost exclusively with other HIV-
infected individuals. This reflects a systematic shift by men, most
of whom are gay, following HIV infection to behaviors that protect
their sex partners,” lead author Wayne Steward, assistant professor
of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco’s Center
for AIDS Prevention Studies, said in a prepared statement.
Prior to HIV infection, the men in the study had unprotected sex with
HIV-negative or HIV-unknown partners almost 75 percent of the time.
After learning they were infected with HIV, there was a major change
in their behavior. They started having unprotected sex with other HIV-
positive partners 97 percent of the time.
The finding has implication for HIV prevention efforts, Steward
said. “If all you are doing is counting condom usage, you are missing
a powerful risk-reduction strategy that is actually taking place,” he
said. “In addition, this study highlights the importance of
identifying acute or recent HIV infections, so that this partner
selection strategy can be implemented at the critical juncture when
individuals are most infectious and when our data show they engage in
behaviors reflecting strong motivations to avoid infecting someone
else.”
The study was to be presented Wednesday at the U.S. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention National HIV Prevention Conference in
Atlanta. It comes on the heels of new data from two U.S. studies,
released at the same meeting Monday, that found that about a third of
HIV-infected gay or bisexual men report having recently engaged in
unsafe sex.
However, in many cases, men were selecting other HIV-positive
partners when engaging in unsafe sex, a practice
called “serosorting, ” the studies’ researchers said.
The entire report can be read at: http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=85664
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