Saliva test yields good results in HIV tests
A new Canadian study has determined that a widely used saliva test for HIV is comparable to traditional blood tests.
Researchers from McGill University in Montreal and Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, compared data from previous studies conducted around the world. They discovered that the OraQuick HIV1/2 saliva test is 99% accurate for diagnosing HIV in high-risk populations, and about 97% in low-risk populations.
"Getting people to show up for HIV testing at public clinics has been difficult because of visibility, stigma, lack of privacy and discrimination. A confidential testing option such as self-testing could bring an end to the stigmatization associated with HIV testing," said Dr. Nitika Pant Pai, the study's lead author.
The painless OraQuick HIV-1/2 saliva test detects whether HIV antibodies are present in a person's oral fluid, and produces a result in 20 minutes. However, it is not fail-safe. False-positives and false-negatives are, if only slightly, more likely than with traditional blood-based tests. Study co-author Rosanna Peeling emphasized the need for professional follow-up and regular testing to ensure a person knows their actual HIV status.
Of course, even when you know your status, safer sex is still important to keep you, and your partners, safe.
Saliva Legit for HIV Testing [The Scientist]
Oral HIV test almost as accurate as blood test [CNet]
A weird little safer sex video from Israel
This is a bizarre little video, but it makes it's point, and it stars sultry porn actor Jonathan Agassi. Apparently, barebacking can invoke an apparition of mini Freddie Mercury clones bearing condoms, or something like that ...
Until There's a Cure
AIDS is still a very real issue affecting the lives of people around the world. And though those dealing with it are living longer, better lives than ever before, we need to remember that there still is no cure.
World AIDS Day is December 1st. It reminds us that we still have a long way to go to beat the disease, and emphasizes the importance of playing safe.
Next Door Entertainment helping fight AIDS
Next Door Entertainment announced yesterday that a percentage of website sales on World AIDS Day, Dec. 1, will be donated to the Until There's A Cure foundation. This is just one of several activities the company has planned in order to help in the fight against AIDS.
"We are proud supporters of the dedication and hard work of our friends at Until There's A Cure," explained Stephan Sirard, President of Next Door Entertainment. "Their work in raising awareness about the importance of getting tested and knowing your status is something that we fully support."
Next Door will also offer a "Donate Now" link on its sites for fans wishing to help, and is getting support from employees, who have been raising money through bake sales and a company raffle. Next Door has promised to match whatever employees raise.
"Every level of our organization is dedicated to participating in raising funds to support the work of Until There's A Cure," added Sirard. "From our models to our employees, combined with our strong presence in the GLBT community, we will continue to do as much as we can to support the fight against HIV/AIDS.
"Once a year, on Dec. 1 the world unites in the fight against HIV/AIDS. We come together to raise awareness, offer support to those living with HIV/AIDS, and pay tribute to those who we have lost."
Next Door Entertainment Donating Website Sales to AIDS Foundation [XBiz]
Bahamas AIDS problem due to homophobia
The high rate of HIV and AIDS in the Bahamas has a lot to do with the country's homophobic attitudes, argued Dr. Perry Gomez, director of the National HIV/AIDS Programme.
Gomez was responding to an attack on gays by Baptist Bishop Simeon Halan, who last week said homosexuality was “anti-family” and also a “deadly practice."
A UN study has found that HIV rates have doubled in the country since 2008, with gay and bisexual men accounting for 14 percent of cases.
"The issue with MSMs [is] that they are a very private group," explained Gomez. “It has been difficult in getting information from that group of people over the years and part of the issue is stigma and discrimination.”
The government in the Bahamas expressed support for a UN Human Rights Council resolution that promoted equal rights for all, regardless of sexual orientation. It is a long way from supporting same-sex marriages, but it's a step in the right direction.
High HIV rates in the Bahamas blamed on homophobia [PinkNews]
STD rates increasing for black men
Alarming new statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been released, revealing that young, queer black men are facing a massive, and disproportionate, increase in STD infections.
For example, syphilis rates fell 1.6% from 2009 to 2010. However, the rate among young black men increased by 134% since 2006! Similar increases are being seen in the number of new HIV, gonorrhea and chlamydia cases.
St. Louis Health Director Pam Walker said that 90% of new infections of gonorrhea and chlamydia were found in African-Americans between the ages of 15 and 24. That is not good!
“You don’t have to spend a week in a bar to find somebody you’re comfortable with,” she said, “People are doing it online and they’re doing it faster.”
Researchers admit part of the increase comes from better access to testing, and therefore more accurate stats. But they also point to certain social and economic factors, such as limited access to health care. The issue of men on the down-low, where guys have sex with other guys but don't consider themselves gay, is another factor.
Something obviously needs to be done to address this issue. But what?
Rapper Lil B releases song "I Got AIDS"
The straight rapper who released an album titled I'm Gay, just released the track "I Got AIDS."
Lil B said the new single is not about creating controversy, but about pushing a safer sex message. "Please everyone I made this to inform everyone that I love and respect and everyone that listens to my music," he wrote. "Please get tested and protect yourself and your partners. Please use condoms and have safe sex."
He then asked fans to send him videos of being tested and promised he would upload one of himself doing the same.
When he was interviewed by MTV News, he added, "A lot of guys think it’s cool to have sex with a lot of women. I’m not having sex with all these women. I lie about it a lot; I lie about having sex with 40 girls. I’m not doing that, and I want people to know, if you are doing that, you are at high risk of getting AIDS or other STDs and you need to make sure you get tested. This is me paying back to the world and just being truthful, honest, and doing something that I feel is right.”
Some are calling it a stunt to promote his album. But if it gets a few of his fans thinking about playing safe, then it's definitely worth it!
Survey suggests people want home tests for HIV
A survey in the UK found that 63 percent of those asked would use HIV home testing kits if they were available and regulated. And just over half said that such kits would make them more likely to test themselves on a regular basis.
Of those living with HIV, 35 percent felt they would have been diagnosed earlier had such kits been available to them.
Home testing kits are not currently provided in the UK or North America. They can be purchased online, but they are not governed by any regulations, which makes them unreliable. As well, without the support of a counsellor to walk someone through a test, it is difficult to determine how individuals would handle the news should they receive a positive, or false positive, result.
Still, the survey has people calling for a change in how people get tested.
“This research shows a clear bedrock of support for the legalisation of HIV home testing kits, particularly among gay men," said Lisa Power, policy director at Terrence Higgins Trust. “We know some people will always be reluctant to visit traditional clinics; [legalizing home testing kits] would give them the option to test for HIV in their own home."
In related news, those who have tested positive for HIV have a much longer life expectancy as long as appropriate treatment is given. Between 1996 and 1999, the average life expectancy has increased by 15 years.
“This is very good news for people with HIV, their families and friends," said Sir Nick Partridge, chief executive of Terrence Higgins Trust.
"It also demonstrates why it’s so much better to know if you have HIV," he added. "Late diagnosis and late treatment mean an earlier grave, so if you've been at risk for HIV, get tested now.
“Of course, it’s not just length of life that’s important, but quality of life too, and having HIV can still severely damage your life’s chances. While so much has changed 30 years on from the start of the epidemic, condoms continue to be the best way to protect yourself and your partner from HIV in the first place.”
Home HIV tests ‘should be legalised’ [PinkNews]
HIV life expectancy rises by 15 years [PinkNews]
Gamers are good for your health
You may want to reconsider your low opinion of online gamers. They recently did something that has stumped scientists for almost 10 years.
A group of dedicated gamers deciphered the structure of an enzyme of an AIDS-like virus. The discovery could lead to more effective treatments for people dealing with HIV.
Until now, the best scientists could achieve was a flat image of the enzyme. However, a three-dimensional model is required by pharmacologists to determine where potential weaknesses or openings exist for drug therapy to target.
A fun-for-purpose game called Foldit, created by the University of Washington in 2008, offered the key. The game pits players against each other, as teams try to unfold chains of amino acids -- the building blocks of proteins -- using a set of online tools.
When the AIDS-like enzyme was introduced to the game, it took players only three weeks to create an accurate 3D model of it.
"We wanted to see if human intuition could succeed where automated methods had failed," Firas Khatib of the university's biochemistry lab said in a press release. "The ingenuity of game players is a formidable force that, if properly directed, can be used to solve a wide range of scientific problems."
"Games provide a framework for bringing together the strengths of computers and humans," added Foldit creator Seth Cooper. "The results in this week's paper show that gaming, science and computation can be combined to make advances that were not possible before."
So next time you see a hardened World of Warcrafter, ignore the pit stains and dried cereal stuck to his T-shirt and give him a big hug!
Online gamers crack AIDS enzyme puzzle [Yahoo!Games]
Gays can now give blood in the UK
Men who have ever had sex with another man are no longer prohibited from giving blood in the UK. However, the Department of Health has stated that although the lifetime ban on homosexuals has been removed, there will still be a one-year deferral period, meaning men who have had gay sex in the last 12 months still cannot donate blood.
The new policy begins November 7th in England, Wales and Scotland. Northern Ireland is still considering the change.
The government’s Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs (SaBTO) has been looking into the issue for some time, and determined that the lifetime ban, implemented in the 1980s, could no longer be justified.
Committee member Deirdre Kelly explained that "the risk from a 12-month deferral was equivalent to permanent deferral" so "the evidence does not support the maintenance of a permanent ban."
Gay rights charity Stonewall felt the change was a “step in the right direction” but argued the new policy still unfairly targets gay men, instead of targeting risky sexual behavior.
“Safety must remain paramount," said Stonewall's Ben Summerskill. "However at a time of national shortages in blood, everyone who can give blood at no risk to recipients should be able to donate."
Other countries that have enacted similar changes include South Africa, with a six-month gap between gay sex and blood donation, and Australia, Sweden and Japan, each of which insists on a 12-month deferral period for homosexuals.
Gay men blood donor ban to be lifted [BBC]
CDC launches AIDS prevention campaign aimed at young black men
When the Center for Disease Control and Prevention released its latest estimates of HIV infection earlier this month, it found a burgeoning epidemic among young black gay and bisexual men. Now federal health officials have rolled out a rare national campaign targeting this group.
The CDC cites several reasons for this trend:
- limited access to both HIV testing and sexual health education;
- stigma surrounding HIV and homosexuality that has gone unchallenged in communities of color;
- a higher incidence rate of other STDs, which have been show to facilitate transmission of HIV.
However public health has been slow to target gay and bisexual men of color and one of the biggest concerns for prevention campaigns of all sorts now is funding, which has been slashed due to budget shortfalls at all levels of government.
CDC officials say they will meet the increasing budget constraints by targeting resources where they are most urgently needed. That includes a national campaign to encourage HIV testing among black men who have sex with men, and to counter both homophobia and stigma around HIV among black men.
'Bout bloody time!
Federal health officials push ‘strength through affirmation’ of black gay men [Color Lines]
Who said Public Service Announcement's can't be fun?
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