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http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Risky-gay-sex-behind-HIV-epidemic/2007/07/20/1184560023169.html
Risky gay sex is behind Australia's sharp surge in HIV infections, a national study of hospital data has confirmed.
And while NSW has escaped the resurgence, other states such as Victoria have been hit hard, according to the report in the Medical Journal of Australia.
The major survey of HIV rates found that 12,313 Australians were infected with the lifetime disease in the 13 years between 1993 and 2006.
The number of new infections dropped 30 per cent in the 1990s and then climbed back to the same high between 2000 and 2006.
Professor John Kaldor, deputy director at the National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research, said the rise was due mainly to risky sexual behaviour among gay men.
Virus exposure through male-to-male sex accounted for 70 per cent of all cases, followed by heterosexual contact at 18 per cent.
In more than half of heterosexually-acquired cases, the person was born in or had a partner from a country with a high prevalence of HIV.
Exposure to HIV from injecting drug use was relatively rare, Prof Kaldor said.
Prof Kaldor said there seemed to be a misunderstanding that HIV was no longer a serious disease.
"It's true treatments have improved a lot, but it's still very serious," he said.
"The treatments are still difficult and there are still several hundred Australians developing AIDS and dying every year."
The rise also raised questions about the effectiveness of current HIV prevention strategies, said Prof Kaldor, who called for new ways of promoting health messages to the gay community.
Ice fuelling HIV epidemic: research
http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Ice-fuelling-HIV-epidemic-research/2007/07/24/1185043092213.html
HIV is on the rise among young gay men caught up with dangerous party drugs and the risky sex scene that goes with it, research has confirmed.
A US survey of young men newly-diagnosed with HIV shows that an increasing number are using methamphetamines like the dangerous stimulant ice, the International AIDS Society (IAS) conference in Sydney has been told.
Between 2000 and 2005, the number of HIV-positive American men under 30 who also took club drugs rose from 1.7 to five per cent.
Sex lubricant could stop HIV and herpes
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22127964-29277,00.html
AN experimental sex lubricant designed by Australian researchers could help block both HIV and genital herpes, a study suggests.
Tests on lab animals have shown that the microbicide gel, called Viva Gel, inactivates the HIV virus and another responsible for genital herpes.
Lead researcher Dr Jeremy Paull from Melbourne-based pharmaceutical company Starpharma told the International AIDS Society conference in Sydney the gel would be used by heterosexual men who apply it directly to themselves before sex.
It would be most useful in sub-Saharan African nations where the HIV epidemic is mostly seen among heterosexuals.
Recent trials on animals have shown it is between 85 and 100 per cent effective at blocking both viruses.
Circumcise now against HIV: expert
http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Circumcise-now-against-HIV-expert/2007/07/25/1185043163540.html
Male circumcision must be urgently embraced on a grand scale to help stop millions catching HIV in third world nations ravaged by the virus, a leading HIV expert says.
US scientist Professor Robert Bailey has warned delegates at the International AIDS Society conference in Sydney that widespread circumcision programs have been delayed too long already, and further stalling will endanger more lives.
About 4,000 men are infected with HIV every day in sub-Saharan Africa, including 3,000 who are uncircumcised.
Rates are highest in countries like Botswana, where circumcision is rare.
Three major African studies recently confirmed what researchers suspected as far back as 1995 - that circumcision cuts the risk of HIV transmission by up to 60 per cent in heterosexual men.
The practice does not appear to benefit gay men in the same way, making it of little use for Australia's at-risk group.
Post-sex washing 'doesn't lower HIV'
http://www.smh.com.au/news/breaking-news/postsex-washing-doesnt-lower-hiv/2007/07/25/1185339081636.html
Washing after sex does not help protect straight men from catching HIV, African research has confirmed.
The study of uncircumcised Ugandan men presented at an AIDS conference in Sydney found that so-called "penile cleansing" with soap and water does not reduce the chance of contracting HIV infection.
The result was disappointing for the research team who had hoped the popular practice could be a cheap and effective alternative to circumcision, which was recently proven to offer 60 per cent protection for heterosexual men.
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