HIV-positive men may use ‘POZ functions’ to reduce danger of scatter of HIV, but various other health problems could be involved

HIV-positive men may use ‘POZ functions’ to reduce danger of scatter of HIV, but various other health problems could be involved

Sex events where HIV-positive gay men satisfy for unsafe sex may help lower the spread out of HIV, but could entail a risk of intimately transmitted attacks and superinfection with resistant stresses of HIV, according to a pilot study done in New York and released inside Oct version of Sexually Transmitted problems.

Although the research is actually delivered in measured words, and is careful to highlight the possibly positive and negative health ramifications of gender parties concerning HIV-positive homosexual boys, or a€?POZ partiesa€? as authors refer to them as, a mass media production through the writers associated with journal put far more sensational words and triggered alarmist statements like a€?POZ people spread very tension of HIVa€? inside well-known push.

Happenings including POZ functions may express an endeavor by HIV-positive homosexual males to pick sexual associates of the identical HIV position, so-called a€?serosortinga€?. Though there was extensive study into the intimate behaviour of gay guys nowadays, little is well known about gay intercourse parties. Consequently experts attempted to explain the traits of men which attend POZ parties, her good reasons for performing this, the types of gender they involved with at these functions, their own medication use at these happenings as well as their sexual habits outside people which included some other HIV-positive guys.

Glossary

serosorting

Selecting intimate lovers of the identical HIV status, or restricting condomless gender to partners of the same HIV updates. As a risk decrease strategy, the drawback for HIV-negative anyone is that they can only ensure of these HIV standing once they past grabbed a test, whereas HIV-positive men are confident they understand their own standing

pilot research

Small-scale, preliminary study, executed to gauge feasibility, times, expense, unpleasant events, and enhance upon the appearance of the next full-scale research project.

superinfection

Whenever someone already contaminated with HIV are subjected to a special stress of HIV and gets contaminated along with it in addition to their established trojan.

strain

A variant characterised by a certain genotype.

poppers

Amyl, butyl or isobutyl nitrite, become recreational medications sniffed during intercourse to both heighten the experience and unwind rectal sphincter muscle groups.

Detectives questioned a total of 115 people at ten POZ party happenings in New York inside the second half of 2003. Many guys comprise white (70per cent) and 97% said that they had gender exclusively together with other people. The median duration of HIV illness was actually 10 years, even though this varied between two months and two decades. Antiretroviral therapies was being used by 69% of men while the average years is 42 decades. A sexually transmitted issues in the year ahead of going to the intercourse celebration was reported by a 3rd of men.

Over a third of men said that their unique biggest basis for attending a POZ celebration ended up being both a€?dona€™t have to worry about exposing my HIV statusa€? (35per cent) or a€?like creating uninhibited or unrestricted sexa€? (35percent). Also, 15per cent of men mentioned a€?dona€™t need to bother about infecting othersa€? since their biggest basis for going to the function.

an earlier intercourse celebration concerning HIV-positive men was went to by 75percent of males, almost all of who said that they went to her basic this type of show between 2000-03, suggesting that these types of happenings got gained in popularity nowadays. Males reported participating in occasions in several us urban centers plus Europe.

The majority of the boys (88per cent) asserted that they had dental sex with one person at a POZ celebration, with 60per cent saying that that they had unprotected open anal intercourse (with well over 75% among these people receiving climax) and 72percent stating that they’d have unprotected insertive anal intercourse at these types of a meeting (with free lesbian hookup sites 69per cent of those men saying that they ejaculated within partner).

There clearly was small proof of medication incorporate at POZ celebration occasions. Despite recent worry in the us about methamphetamine and erection dysfunction drugs fuelling intimate risk using, the investigators learned that just 11percent of men reported the utilization of any amphetamine and only 1per cent of men said that they put Viagra before or during the celebration. On top of that, the investigators observed small evidence of medicine need other than poppers.

The investigators bring numerous inferences from their study. Firstly, the people they evaluated seem to be an effort at a€?serosortinga€?. Subsequently, medication usage just isn’t a dominant function among these occasions; and, finally, gender activities involving HIV-positive gay people may possibly provide an as yet unrealised chance of fitness marketing.

a€?POZ functions could potentially donate to reductions inside the spread of HIV problems through the self-selection of HIV-positive sexual partnersa€?, determine the detectives. But the great benefits of such a€?serosortinga€? maybe undermined from the spread of sexually transmitted infection therefore the a€?diffusion of HIV superinfection, both among HIV-positive people at POZ people as well as their HIV-negative sex couples in other locations.a€?

Clatts MC et al. a rising HIV issues atmosphere: a preliminary epidemiological profile of an MSM POZ celebration in new york. Intercourse Transm Infect 81: 373 a€“ 376, 2005.