Only half of US HIV-diagnosed gay men got treatment in 2010, CDC says

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/25/half-hiv-positive-gay-bisexual-men-treated

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Only half of gay and bisexual men who have been diagnosed with HIV received care in 2010, according to US government data released on Thursday.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that 49.5% of infected gay and bisexual men receive treatment that can curb the effects of the chronic condition. Gaps in access to care are particularly high among young and African American men.

“A top prevention priority at CDC is making sure every gay man with HIV knows his status and receives ongoing medical care, otherwise, we will never tackle the HIV epidemic in the country,” said Dr Jonathan Mermin, director of the CDC’s national center for HIV/Aids, Viral Hepatitis, STD and Tuberculosis Prevention.

Reports collected from 19 regions in the US showed that black men who have sex with men are the least likely to receive care. That population also accounts for an estimated 44% of new HIV infections in 2010 while only representing 12% of the US population.

A large part of this problem is thought to be a lack of awareness about recommended treatment options in patients and physicians. A Kaiser Family Foundation survey also released on Thursday showed that six in 10 gay or bisexual men said they rarely or never discuss HIV with their doctor, and 56% said their doctor has never recommended they get HIV testing.

This could help explain why of the gay and bisexual men surveyed, 30% said they have never been tested for HIV and another 30% said they have not been tested in the past year, as per health recommendations.

The nationally representative survey questioned a relatively small group of 431 men and found that HIV is the top health priority among gay and bisexual men, but when asked what the most important issue faces them today, HIV fell behind discrimination/stigma/lack of acceptance (the top concern), equal right and marriage equality.

Of those surveyed 47% of men 35 and older said they had lost a close friend to Aids, while only 8% of men ages 18 to 34 had.