Sad, yes, surprising, perhaps, but whatever it is, it needs to be addressed.
According to the results of a federal study, 20 percent of gay and bisexual men who are sexually active are HIV + and over 40% of those men don’t even know it.
In the study released today, which is considered to be the largest study of its type, results showed that gay and bisexual U.S. men are disproportionately at risk for contracting the HIV infection. For this study, over 8,000 gay and bisexual men were tested and interviewed, and of those, 44 % tested positive for HIV and weren’t aware of their status.
According to a statement by Jennifer Kates, the Kaiser Foundation’s director of global health and HIV policy:
“We don’t have a generalized epidemic in the United States. We have a concentrated epidemic among certain populations.”
The White House announced a new national AIDS strategy in July, that places more emphasis on men who have sex with men and other populations at higher risk.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends HIV testing at least once a year for everyone who is sexually active, but it’s estimated through research that less than 50% of sexually active adults actually do get tested.
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