If you were to believe the Ugandan authorities then you would assume that the only reason that AIDS has managed to spread through the country is because of us nasty gay people, which makes an Anti-Homosexuality Bill seem like a pretty good idea. The only problem is it’s totally wrong. The Uganda AIDS Commission has actually proven far from it being a gay issue, the biggest source of the problem is actually married couples being unfaithful, so much so that the The HIV Shift is now stating:

Current epidemiological trends would suggest that to avoid HIV infection in Uganda you may need to avoid getting married. How times have changed. There was a time in Uganda when marriage was the recommended option to avoid catching HIV

So maybe it’s time to scrap that Anti-Homosexuality Bill idea and go for a Anti-Marriage one then Uganda? No, for some reason didn’t think you’d be too keen on that.

Photo credit: Avoir Chaud / Source: LezGetReal

Now not only can you get heart transplants, but there’s the potential for brain transplants AND even whole head transplants. Only downside is you apparently need to be a gummy bear to qualify. Personally we think that’s just an excuse and they’re turning us away because we’re gay…

Via Likecool

Bringing in mass screening of billions of people in Africa, and across the globe, could lead to eradicate HIV/AIDS within 40 years according to Dr Brian Williams of the South African Centre for Epidemiological Modelling and Analysis.

Talking at the annual American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting, Williams said there was a need to shift towards stopping tranmission, stating:

“The problem is we’re now using HIV drugs to save people’s lives; we’re not using them to stop transmission.

“Can we use anti-retroviral drugs not only to keep people alive but also to stop transmission? I believe we can. I believe we can effectively stop transmission within five years.”

Saying he believed that transmission of the disease could be halted by 2015, Williams predicted that could mean the AIDS epidemic could be over by 2050 as those still with the HIV virus would have died.

The problem with the situation at the moment, according to Williams, is that the anti-retro viral drugs used at the moment – which act to make the patient less infectious by lowering the viral load of the disease in the blood-  are given out at a point when the patient is likely to have infected others around them in the time between transmission and gaining help. He suggests, and says other scientists support the ideas, that a better tactic would be to have everyone tested once a year then treated if they are found to be carrying the virus.

Admitting a mass screening programme would be expensive, Williams did however act to justify this by saying that it would save money not only on the continuing treatment needed if the epidemic is not bought to an end, but also stop the loss to society that occurs by the half a million young adults that die each year from, the disease.

Whilst gay men and those from sub-Saharan Africia are typically seen to be at most risk, the numbers being diagnosed amongst heterosexuals has been steadily rising.

Currently setting  up a key trial in his home country at Hlabisa, Williams study is also being replicated in US, Canada and sub-Saharan Africa to test the viability of the theory.

Last year the National Blood Service received 2.1 million donations of blood from 1.6 million donors. On first glance this may look  impressive, however the reality is it only reflects 4% of the population donating a couple of times a yea, and with the NHS requiring 7000 units of blood each day (something which equates to 2.5 million donations a year)  there is a deficit of 400,000 units of blood exists every single year.

And the sad thing is  that there is one group that would happily break down that number, but aren’t allowed to. Gay and bisexual men. Denied the right to give blood because they have had sex with another man, the reasoning behind the ban, according to the National Blood Service, is that there is a risk of transmitting viruses such as HIV, HBV, HCV and syphilis during the 3 month ‘window period’ when tests can’t detect these viruses in the blood.

It’s hard to deny it doesn’t make sense. If there are viruses that can’t be identified that could infect then maybe it’s not a good idea to give blood. However what is often ignored is that these viruses aren’t gay men only viruses and the same 3 month window exists with people of any gender or sexuality. It is therefore not the viruses that are the issues but the perceived level of risk – something the National Blood Service believes is too high with gay men

Research by Man Central, the free gay dating website has however shown that a blanket ban isn’t potentially the best way forward as it is not only removing many willing volunteers from donating blood – they found that 3 out of 4 bisexual and gay men would give blood if they could – but it is also dismissing the fact that most gay and bisexual men are intelligent enough to know whether they should be giving blood  – the research found those only sometimes practising safe sex, or alternatively looking for sex online, were the least likely to agree to donate blood.

Also highlighting that 78% of men who always practised safe sex, and therefore should be virus free, would give blood if they could, this highlights there is a group very willing to break down the deficit if only the NBS would trust them to.

The research by ManCentral.com saw 3,667 members polled over a three day period with the questions answered anonymously to ensure an honest and accurate response.

Photo by cesarastudillo

A new report published by Dr Julie Fish from De Montfort University (DMU) in Leicester, K which is being used as part the NHS Cervical Screening Programme 2009 Annual Review, has found that the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) which is present in almost 100% of cervical cancer cases can be transmitted in lesbian relationships.

Previously it had been believed that the HPV virus could only transmitted through heterosexual relationship which had lead many to assume that lesbians were not at rest and so did not need to be screened. However the research found that whilst some lesbians have never had any form of sexual relations with a man around 80% of lesbians have, and that any exchange of bodily fluids can transmit HPV meaning a woman could be infected by her female partner.

The research by Dr Fish also highlights that lesbians often feel discouraged from having cervical screening by GPs and practice nurses due to the fact the medical staff often ask heterosexual related questions, such as when they last had sex with their male partner and what contraception they use. Acting to create a discourse that cervical screening is therefore only necessary for heterosexual women, Dr Fish is now calling for the NHS to provide clearer information to lesbians about cervical cancer sceening, and to dispel the myths that exist.

Samantha Days, services manager for the Lesbian & Gay Foundation backed up Dr Fish’s call for clearer information and education saying “We take quite a few inquiries about cervical cancer, particularly since Jade Goody’s battle with the disease. We always encourage callers to go and be screened, and also suggest they challenge doctors or nurses who imply that it isn’t necessary.”

Professor Julietta Patnick CBE, director of the NHS Cancer Screening Programme. on commenting on the findings said “This report represents an important and very useful step in our efforts to tackle inequalities in screening uptake,”

“A clearer understanding of the transmission routes of HPV is crucial in helping to encourage all eligible women to accept screening invitations, enabling the programme to continue and improve its valuable work in detecting cancer early.

“As a result of Dr Fish’s work the NHS Cancer Screening Programme has now produced the first national screening leaflet for lesbians.”

Dr Fish, who has worked extensively as a researcher and completed projects for Stonewall, the UK gay rights organisation, responded saying “I am very pleased to have worked with the NHS Cancer Screening Programme on such an important issue. Results from last year’s National Cancer Equalities Initiatives survey made it apparent that lesbians have been a poorly represented group.

“It is a very important issue because lesbian women have died from cervical cancer in the past but I now hope that now this group of women will receive the information and care they need,” she concluded.

Via UKGayNews (story) and goodcatmum (photo)

Emory University has published a report, entitled The Impact Of Social Tolerance Levels Toward Gays In The United States On The HIV Transmission Rate, which suggests that the spread of HIV may be slowed where the tolerance of the LGBT community is higher. Put together by the Assistant Professors of Economics, Andres Francis and Hugo Mialon of Emory, these findings have yet to be published in a peer reviews academic publication, but have been released via a press release due to the university’s belief that the findings have a potential impact on policy decisions regarding same sex unions and gay marriage.

Included within these findings was the discovery that where the tolerance of gays was higher, the drop in HIV rates was statistically significant and robust, and where there wasn’t tolerance there tended to be a higher rate of men having sex with other men in public areas such as parks, beaches, restrooms and other public areas, which in turn saw higher rates of HIV.

Attributing the lower HIV rates to the fact that where tolerance is higher men are going to be more likely to come out, and in turn less likely to seek out anonymous sexual encounters that have a higher risk in terms of infection, Mialon and Francis believe this research needs to be taken into account concerning the current discussions about same sex marriage, however opponents to gay marriage are suggesting the research is little more than propoganda.

And this year it’s become obvious that there’s still much to be done at home, because alongside a growing number of infections in third world countries, the United Kingdom itself has seen the number of cases diagnosed shoot up from 2800 in 1998 to a massive 8000 in 2008, with the stigma and discrimation surrounding the disease still causing many to feel unable to stand up and admit to being HIV positive.

However whilst this may all make today feel somewhat depressing, what is positive to see is the determination of the three main political leaders in the United Kingdom to change this pattern, with the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, speaking most passionately about his government’s committment to reducing the stigma that stops the quarter of people with HIV who don’t know they have it being testing, but also to improving treatment and care at home and abroad.

Speaking of  the UK’s position as the leading world advocate of universal access to treatment gives us much to be proud of as a country, however as Brown says there are still 5 million people, who are mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters and children,  who  desperately need it but can’t get it – something the Prime Minister  is passionate about not letting happen, promising that his government will continue to work hand in hand with those around the world that have the same common goal, that breaks all language barriers, – to make HIV and AIDS history.

And if you want to learn more about World AIDS Day 2009, as well as what you can do to help, then the National AIDs Trust website is a great place to start as this charity not offers you the chance to buy special World AIDS Day merchandise to help raise funds but also offers an incredible amount of information to help change both lives of those with AIDS and attitudes of society as a whole.

Gordon Brown – World AIDS Day 2009 Message

David Cameron – World AIDS Day 2009 Message

Nick Clegg – World AIDS Day 2009 Message

A Taiwanese researcher, Chieng-Ching Hung has received a doctorate from the University of Antwerp and the Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp after identifying  a rare parasitic disease, usually only transmitted by contaminated water, can also be transmitted by gay sex between HIV-positive men.

Currently Amebiasis, an infection with the single-celled amoeba Entamoebia histolytica, is very rarely seen in the industrial world due to the disease only being prevalent where the amoeba is endemic, and where hygiene is substandard, but does have a potential to spread in what is an ever more mobile world.

Only becoming dangerous when the amoeba affects the intestinal lining, the resulting condition is bloody diarrhoea, and if it’s able to enter the blood stream can lead to the possibility of, amongst other things,  liver abscesses. The current snnual death rate from the disease currently stands at around 70,000 worldwide a year.

Until Hung’s ground breaking findings, physicians had been aware that the disease seemed more prevalent in HIV-positive male homosexuals, but couldn’t form any concrete evidence due to the small numbers, and the unreliability of the classical diagnostic test (that of inspecting stools under the microscope. Hung, however, has gained more conclusive evidence by moving from these relatively simple tests and using molecular techniques instead, something allowing him to precisely pinpoint the amoeba, and in turn see which were more closely related – i.e. who got the infection from who.

And it was this that was able to show the connection to gay sex between HIV positive men, with  the findings showing Taiwan seropositive (HIV infected) gay men were more often affected by the amoeba than not only the general healthy population. but also seropositive heterosexuals,with  men from different regions also tending to be infected by closely related amoebas, something attributed to homosexual (oral-anal) contact.

Speaking in a message for World AIDS Day, Prime Minister Gordon Brown pays tribute to activists who’ve stayed committed to the challenge of making AIDS and HIV history.

Highlighting the role of the UK gay community in the 1980s in spearheading this movement, Brown also speaks of the growing band of people across the world who acting to play their own part, and how in the last decade the UK has invested nearly £3 million in domestic preventation work.

Keen to point out that a quarter of people don’t know they are infected, Brown also discusses the importance of testing and his government’s commitment to making sure not only does this happen but that they have access to the drugs when diagnosed.

Finishing by saying “We are not prepared to see people die simply because they are too poor to live both at home and abroad”, Brown believes by working together it truly is possible to make HIV and AIDs history.