“Jeffrey” recently asked in an email: “Where should I go to get tested, and how are things going to go when I go in. I’ve been sexually active for about 3 years now. I guess I am really scared to go in. I just want to know what are the best places to go…I’m just really confused about this whole process about getting tested…”

In 2008, gay men have the same worries, fears, questions, and uncertainty about HIV as we had 20 years ago. Unfortunately what has changed is that our community as a whole seems to be less concerned and less motivated about HIV prevention. SafeGuards believes it is important that we continue to vigilant about knowing the latest about HIV and AIDS and its impact on our community.

HIV is certainly not the focus of sustained news and media attention as it was even a decade ago. In fact, you may have missed these recent headlines:

HIV Estimates Lower than Expected; HIV Estimates Higher than Expected:

From just glancing at headlines, it appears that there is conflicting information about how quickly HIV infections are increasing in the U.S. and worldwide. While the news at the end of 2007 was that estimates of new HIV cases globally were lowered due to a change in estimation methods, in the U.S., the opposite is true. With advances in testing technology, it has become clear that prior methods for estimating HIV incidence in the U.S. have underestimated the most recent cases of infection that occur every year. Thus, scientists believe that new infections in the U.S. are about 50% higher than previously estimated. What is less clear from these new estimation methods is exactly where and among whom HIV infections are increasing. There is evidence that HIV infection is increasing again among gay men.

HIV Increasingly Affecting Gay Men in Philadelphia:

The number of new HIV infections among gay men is increasing (according to public health officials) in part due to substance abuse, increases in other STDs, and an increase in the numbers of men engaging in risk behaviors. In Philadelphia we can expect to see an increase in the number of HIV prevention efforts that target not only individuals risk behaviors but also community norms. This includes new prevention efforts from the SafeGuards Project you’ll hear more about in the coming months.

Poppers may increase HIV risk from Anal Sex:

A study recently reported in England that men who had unprotected anal sex and used poppers (nitrite inhalants) while having sex were more likely to get infected with HIV than men who did not use poppers while having sex. This finding was even after considering differences in underlying risk factors of the men. Thus researchers suggest that poppers may cause some changes in rectal tissue (dilation of blood vessels) that could make men more likely to bleed when having anal sex and thus increase risk of HIV infection.

HIV Vaccine Research Trial Halted:

HIV vaccine research is progressing in spite of the halting of the STEP study near the end of 2007. It is going to take some time for scientists to analyze the data from this trial enough to understand if the vaccine approach being tested had positive or negative immunogenic effects. However, these data are already being used to further develop the next set of HIV vaccine trials.

HIV Microbicide Trials Promising:

Microbicide research is progressing at a much faster pace than HIV vaccine research, and has finally included a number of preliminary studies that will ensure that future microbicide trials will include studies of rectally-applied microbicides. This research is something that is vitally important to gay men concerned with HIV prevention.

“Jeffrey” In Philadelphia:

The “Jeffrey” who emailed us in 2008 is very similar to the fictional “Jeffrey” of the 1994 play and 1995 movie by Paul Rudnick. What both Jeffreys show us is that stigma and fear of HIV often interfere with our ability to enjoy our lives and our relationships with other people. What the play Jeffrey shows us is that we need our community and friends, and we need to allow ourselves love and relationships in the face of AIDS. SafeGuards is proud to welcome a new production of the play Jeffrey to Philadelphia thanks to Represented Theatre Company. Jeffrey is at the Walnut Street Theatre, Studio 5 from January 9 to 20.th Tickets can be purchased by calling 215-965-8289 or online at http://represented.tix.com.

Jeffrey of 2008 was able to get his questions answered and a free HIV test by emailing SafeGuards at saferthebetter@yahoo.com. You can too. You can also find more information on each of these topics as well as other HIV information at www.safeguards.org.