TresSugar

Why the New Development in HIV Prevention Is So Exciting

Annie Scudder — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 02:00:57 PDT

"This is an extremely exciting day for HIV prevention," declared the CDC's director of AIDS prevention yesterday. Dr. Kevin Fenton was talking about a new scientific breakthrough that found taking antiretroviral drugs while HIV negative can significantly decrease the risk of infection. In fact the results were so conclusive that the University of Washington decided to stop its study early because it was unethical to give some participants a placebo when the drugs were working so effectively. Here are three reasons why this is big news.

Two different studies found clear results. The first study looked at couples with one HIV positive partner and one HIV negative partner from Kenya and Uganda. It found 73 percent fewer HIV infections among people taking the antiretroviral pill. The second study looked at 1,200 men and women in Botswana and found that people taking the medication had 63 percent fewer infections of HIV. And those who took the pill most reliably saw an 80 percent decrease in risk.
First to show protection in straight couples. A 2010 study found gay men taking tenofovir/emtricitabine were 44 percent less likely to get HIV. But the new research is the first to find similar results among women and heterosexual partners.
It's simple. Just like a birth control pill, you just need a once daily dose.

Researchers are hopeful that the preventative medication will soon be added to existing tools for HIV prevention that currently only include condoms and abstinence.

How to Get Tested For HIV

Tara Sharp — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 13:25:25 PDT

Today is National HIV Testing Day, and since 40 percent of people with HIV are not diagnosed until they already have AIDS, early detection of HIV is key to keeping yourself and your partner safe from the devastating disease. If you've had unprotected sex and aren't sure how to get tested, here are some tips.

You can choose to take the test anonymously or confidentially. Anonymous tests won't be in your medical records, while confidential tests will be available only to health care professionals.
Find a local testing location on the CDC's website. Or you can use a map like the one on the NHTD site to find testing events for the awareness campaign. For instance, these are the testing events in California.
There are several different ways to be tested for HIV: the standard blood test, the rapid HIV test that can have results ready in 60 minutes, the home blood-sample collection test that sends the results anonymously to a lab, and the oral HIV test that still must be verified by a blood test. Note that you might get a false if tested too soon after contact.

You can find out more about HIV testing here.

Speed Read - HIV-Positive Porn Star Blasts Dangerous Practices

TresSugar — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 09:45:00 PST

HIV-positive porn star favors mandatory condom use - LA Times
Are STDs behind WikiLeaks arrest? - Reuters
6 love lessons from Elizabeth Edwards - YourTango
John Lennon's final interview released - Rolling Stone
Iran has a "no divorce" day - Jezebel
Study shows that country men are better endowed - Nerve
MTV will drop Snooki from a ball over Times Square on NYE - Vanity Fair

World AIDS Day Around the Globe

Colleen Barrett — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 10:00:19 PST

Every year on Dec. 1 countries mark World AIDS Day in their own way. Vigils are held, red ribbons are hung, free HIV tests administered, and giant condom balloons are blown (sorry) up. See how the world is observing it today.

The Pope Finally Takes Reasonable Stance on Condoms - Sort Of

Annie Scudder — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 10:15:21 PST

Pope Benedict XVI has finally joined the 21st century and come out in favor of using condoms to prevent HIV, suggesting that in fact, hell may have frozen over. The Pope thinks that using a condom is a lesser evil than transmitting HIV, even if that means preventing pregnancy. Why it took the Church so long to discover it's better to prevent a pregnancy than potentially pass on HIV to a mother and a child is beyond me, but the new interpretation does dramatically depart from the Church's total opposition to contraception. The Pope now joins the side of UN HIV/AIDS officials, who announced this week that the number of new HIV infections fell, thanks partly to condoms.

In his book released today, the Pope cited male prostitutes as an example, explaining that it was more moral and responsible for them to use condoms to protect their partners from HIV, and today the Vatican clarified that this also applies to "a woman, a man, or a transsexual."

The Catholic Church's new position will surely boost condom promotion in Africa and other places with an at-risk population. And since the Church provides tons of social services in developing countries, maybe this means it will soon help make condoms available. Yet, the Pope still opposes contraception simply to prevent pregnancy. The new statement might signal more change to come, but it doesn't really matter, at least in America - Catholic women are more likely to use the pill than the general population anyway.

Porn Stars Should Just Wear Condoms Already

Annie Scudder — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 04:00:14 PDT

Last year when an AIDS advocacy group filed complaints against porn production companies for unsafe work conditions, it hoped that the government would force the industry to use condoms. Unfortunately, adult entertainment industry leaders have so far successfully claimed that regular testing is an effective way to protect the actors and that viewers do not want to watch protected sex.

News that a porn actor has tested positive for HIV may finally bring some change when public health officials meet to discuss mandatory condom rules at the end of the month. But it's not a sure thing. A 2004 HIV outbreak among porn stars wasn't enough to make condoms mandatory.

Everyone knows that using a condom is a trade-off for protecting yourself against HIV/AIDS or other STDs, so I think we can trade in whatever enjoyment we get from seeing unprotected sex for the actors' safety. And in the meantime, let's try to find a way to digitally remove the condom after filming.

Now You Can Wait in Line at the DMV For an HIV Test

Annie Scudder — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 12:15:18 PDT

Here's a way to pass time at the DMV: get an HIV test while you're waiting. A DMV branch in Washington DC is rolling out a pilot program that sets up free HIV testing on site. With three percent of residents living with HIV/AIDS - that's a higher rate than in West Africa - the nation's capital has to get creative about increasing testing.

A nonprofit, not the government, will administer the test, and the results will be confidential. They're hoping to keep things fast, too. Results will come in 20 minutes, and counseling and medical help will be available for those who get a positive reading.

While I love the idea of making HIV testing easily accessible and decreasing the stigma, I'm not sure I'd want to find out my results at the DMV. But those behind it say it's the perfect place to educate a cross section of residents about the importance of knowing your status. In that case, it sounds like a smart idea to me.

Speed Read! German Pop Star Guilty of Spreading HIV

TresSugar — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 09:35:59 PDT

No Angels singer Nadja Benaissa convicted of spreading HIV, will avoid jail - CNN
New immigrants deciding not to Americanize their last names - New York Times
Number of women in US politics sharply trails European rate - MSNBC
Lindsay Lohan is out of rehab and jail and back behind the wheel - PopSugar
Bachelorette Ali is wedding dress shopping - US Magazine
Tiger Woods's golf game picks up after divorce - People
Show about the South is the latest rumored reincarnation of Jersey Shore - Reuters
Greece's Prince Nikolaos and Denmark's Princess Tatiana are married - Huffington Post

Could Anti-HIV Gel Actually Lead to Less Safe Sex?

TresSugar — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 10:00:05 PDT

At this year's international AIDS conference, the world health community celebrated a new vaginal gel that decreases a woman's risk of contracting HIV. "For the first time we have seen results for a woman-initiated and controlled HIV prevention option," said the director of the UN's AIDS policy. But could this option also be a burden?

The gel, used before sex, is intended for women who cannot convince their partners to use condoms, which, according to the UN, amounts to most women in the world. Critics say embracing such a gel as the solution cements the idea that a man has a right to condomless sex. In other words, huge amounts of money is going toward research simply to make sure men don't have to wear condoms, instead of focusing resources on teaching safe sex and changing social norms.

For more on the dilemma keep reading.

Olympian Might Face 30 Years For Not Telling Partner About HIV

TresSugar — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 10:30:47 PDT

In his Florida hometown, equestrian Darren Chiacchia went from celebrated Olympic medalist to charged alleged-criminal. How did he get here?

When preparing for the Beijing Olympics in 2008, Darren fell off his horse and went to the hospital with serious injuries. There, he found out that not only did he have a severe brain injury, but also that he is HIV positive. Darren went on with his life as a relatively healthy gay man managing his HIV. He later dated a man he met online, but after this partner came across medical records indicating Darren's HIV-positive status, he went to the local sheriff's office and filed a complaint. In Florida, it is a crime for an HIV-positive person to have sex without informing a partner of the positive status. Now Darren faces a possible 30 years in prison.

Records suggest that Darren's partner has not contracted HIV. But Florida's law doesn't care, and about 32 other states have similar criminal laws dealing with exposure to HIV. For more on this,

read more. In places like Pennsylvania and Louisiana, someone with HIV can face 10 years for biting or spitting, even though you can't pass HIV that way. In 2008, an HIV-positive Texas man was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon (his saliva), and he's now serving 35 years in prison. Opponents of these laws say they discourage people from getting tested and make everyone with HIV a possible criminal. They would prefer that people who recklessly expose another person to something harmful like HIV be prosecuted under generic criminal laws when it's called for. Considering HIV is no longer a guaranteed death sentence, do you think it should still be a crime for someone who knows they are HIV-positive to fail to inform a sexual partner? Does your opinion change if they use condoms? Or what if the other person never asks - should each person be responsible for his or her own health? And if we're going to criminalize passing diseases, should we go further? One woman, who sued her husband for giving her herpes, probably thinks so.