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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Release # 079-07
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
CONTACT INFORMATION FOR MEDIA:
Sara Markt smarkt at health.nyc.gov
Celina De Leon cdeleon at health.nyc.gov
Sheryl Tirol-Goodwin stirolgo at health.nyc.gov
NEW HIV DIAGNOSES RISING IN NEW YORK CITY AMONG YOUNG
MEN WHO HAVE SEX WITH MEN
Young Blacks and Hispanics Hit Hardest

NEW YORK CITY - September 11, 2007 - HIV infection is
on the rise among young men who have sex with men
(MSM) in New York City, according to preliminary data
from the Health Department. New HIV diagnoses among
MSM under age 30 have increased by 33% during the
past six years, the agency reported today, from 374
in 2001 to almost 500 in 2006. New diagnoses have
doubled among MSM ages 13 to19, while declining by
22% among older MSM. The under-30 group now accounts
for New HIV Diagnoses in Men Who Have Sex with Men
44% of all new diagnoses among MSM in New York City,
up from 31% in 2001.

"We are very concerned about the increase in HIV
among young men who have sex with men," said Dr.
Thomas R. Frieden, Health Commissioner for New York
City. "We're headed in the wrong direction. Unless
young men reduce the number of partners they have,
and protect themselves and their partners by using
condoms more consistently, we will face another wave
of suffering and death from HIV and AIDS."

Other local leaders in the fight against AIDS voiced
similar concern.
* Debra Frasier-Howe, president of the National
Black Leadership Commission on AIDS: "These
numbers are devastating. After 26 years of AIDS,
we cannot drift backward. We must ask all New
Yorkers to accept some responsibility for helping
our young people protect themselves. Their lives
are not dispensable."

* Tokes Osubu, executive director of Gay Men of
African Descent (GMAD): "Reversing this trend
will require a new commitment to protecting this
most underserved population. GMAD will continue
to work with other stakeholders to save the lives
of our young men. We need an integrated approach
across city agencies, social justice
organizations and AIDS organizations, and a less
judgmental approach by faith institutions."

* Wendy Stark, interim executive director of the
Callen-Lorde Community Health Center: "Health
care in a supportive and affirming setting can
foster healthy choices. We encourage all New
Yorkers to identify a primary care provider with
whom they feel comfortable discussing sexual
behavior and substance use."

Blacks and Hispanics still bear a disproportionate
share of New York City's HIV burden. Among all MSM,
blacks received twice as many HIV diagnoses as whites
in 2006 (232 versus 101), and Hispanics received 55%
more than whites (157 versus 101). The disparity is
even more striking among adolescents; more than 90%
of the MSM under age 20 diagnosed with HIV in 2006
were black or Hispanic (81 out of 87).

Every borough except Staten Island has seen HIV
increase among MSM under 30 since 2001. The largest
increases occurred in Queens (49%) and Manhattan
(57%). The increase in Manhattan was concentrated in
East and Central Harlem (up 115%, from 26 to 56), and
in the Chelsea and Clinton areas (up 56%, from 25 to
39).

To focus on more recent trends in HIV infection, this
analysis excluded MSM who were diagnosed with HIV and
AIDS at the same time, generally indicating that the
infection has progressed for many years. In 2006,
20% of MSM diagnosed with HIV received a concurrent
diagnosis of AIDS (285 men), meaning that they had
missed opportunities for care to stay healthy and may
have unknowingly spread HIV to others.

The new HIV data parallel a recent Health Department
report
(www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/pr2007/pr054-07.shtml)
showing a sharp increase in the number of syphilis
cases among MSM in New York City during the first
quarter of 2007. The syphilis increase has affected
both younger and older MSM, and half of those newly
diagnosed with syphilis in New York City also report
being infected with HIV. Syphilis and HIV are a
dangerous combination, because syphilis causes
genital sores (making HIV easier to spread) and HIV
lowers immunity (which can make syphilis harder to
treat).

What Are the Health Department and Community Organizations
Doing to Combat HIV in New York City?

The Health Department funds an array of programs to
educate New Yorkers about how to protect themselves
from HIV and other STDs. Efforts to prevent
infection, and support those who become infected, are
under way in all five boroughs.
* The Department is working with community groups,
medical providers, and others to promote risk
reduction through reducing the number of partners
and increasing the use of condoms. The
Department distributes more than 3 million free
condoms each month. The distinctive NYC Condom is
available not only through Health Department
clinics and community organizations but through
retail establishments and entertainment venues,
including bars, clubs and restaurants. For
information on where to find them, visit
www.nyccondom.org.

* Anyone age 12 or older can get can get free,
confidential, anonymous HIV testing and STD
treatment at the Health Department's 10 STD
clinics. Services are available without parental
notification and without regard to insurance or
immigration status. The clinics provide rapid HIV
testing on a walk-in basis; results are typically
available within 30 minutes. They also offer free
testing for syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia, as
well as hepatitis immunization. For clinic
locations and hours, visit
http://home2.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/std/std2.shtml

"Don Saklad" <dsaklad@nestle.csail.mit.edu> wrote in message
Cynthia Gomez, co-director of the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies at the
University of California at San Francisco, develops programs designed to
keep people of all ages and ethnicities from acquiring and transmitting
HIV.

Professor Gomez say the problem with most AIDS education programs in the
United States aimed at young people is they're not relevant.

"I think it's really important to remember that HIV showed up 20 years
ago," she said. "So, for most young people, they have never known a world
without HIV. They did not have the opportunity, if you will, to see, to
witness, the devastation of this disease because there are medications that
hide, in some ways, some of what were the more obvious symptoms in the
earlier parts of this epidemic."

Ms. Gomez says many kids think they can take a "magic" pill and not worry
about HIV-AIDS. But the high school kids I spoke with called the disease a
"death sentence," noting that anti-retroviral drugs are not a cure, and all
of them agreed that it is important to get to know their partners well
before engaging in sexual relations.

However, there were mixed feelings about HIV testing. The students say
some of their classmates do not get tested because they don't know anybody
infected with HIV so they assume they're safe. They also believe some of
their classmates are scared to find out if they are HIV-positive.

This teenager, in her third year of high school, says she knows of
classmates who have non-HIV, sexually-transmitted diseases but continue to
have sexual relations anyway.

"They're sexually active, but they'll tell them after the fact, because
they don't want to be denied like, 'I don't want to be with you, because
you're a freak; you're a diseased animal, or something.' But they're
scared because of what people are socially going to think about them and
they don't want that upon them," she said.

Professor Gomez says successful AIDS prevention programs must involve
direct and frank discussions about the importance and long-term benefits of
sexual health.

Ms. Gomez says trying to scare young people into practicing safe sex or
being abstinent doesn't work in the long run.

"Young people are very smart today, much more sophisticated than we were at
their age," she noted. "And I think that it's very hard sometimes for
people to accept that; that our youth are making their own decisions and
choices without very much information."

In the end, the students say they know they need to be more aware about the
risks of HIV. But as one girl suggests, the message may take awhile to
sink in.