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Rapid HIV
Testing Proves Worthwhile at Gay Pride Events |
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Targeting minority males
for rapid HIV testing during gay pride
events can help identify people who do not know they are infected and link
them to care and prevention services, new research shows.
Between 2004 and 2006, T. Dowling of the San Francisco Department of Public
Health and colleagues conducted rapid HIV tests and behavioral surveys at 11
gay pride events attended primarily by racial/ethnic minority men.
Of the 543 participants who said they were HIV-negative or did not know
their serostatus, all were offered OraSure rapid HIV tests. Of 133 people
tested, eight (6 percent) tested HIV-positive. Of them, four reported having
HIV-negative test results within the previous six months.
In the United States, of HIV-infected men who have sex with men, about half
are black or Hispanic, the researchers noted. Testing men at gay pride
events could be a useful way to reach this disproportionately infected
population, researchers concluded.
The full report, "Rapid HIV Testing Among Racial/Ethnic Minority Men at Gay
Pride Events - Nine US Cities, 2004-2006," was published in CDC's Morbidity
and Mortality Weekly Report (2007;56(24):602-604).
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Reuters Health
(06.21.07) |
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does not constitute endorsement. The above summaries were prepared
without conducting any additional research or investigation into the
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