Transmission categories of male adolescents and adults given a diagnosis of AIDS, through 2003:

The state of AIDS today has not changed much over the last couple of years, according to the statistics. New infections rear their head every day worldwide, and one by one people infected with HIV are dying of AIDS. Recent drugs have helped to prolong the life of those who are HIV-positive, but the expense, the commitment to 100-percent holistic health and a strict regimen of daily medication does nothing to help the cause.

The most recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistics are based on late 2003/early 2004 findings. The newest developments noted include faster testing practices known as Rapid Results, where those being tested can discover the results almost immediately. According to a CDC study, this development has encouraged more people to get tested and to learn about their results. There still is no cure for AIDS, however.

According to the CDC, the most recent published statistics show that men who have sex with men [msm] accounted for two thirds of all HIV infections among men in 2003.

The CDC reports: “The number of HIV diagnoses for MSM decreased during the 1980s and 1990s, but recent surveillance data show an increase in HIV diagnoses for this group. Given the high prevalence of HIV infection in young MSM of minority races and ethnicities, there is a continued need for culturally diverse prevention and education services.”

The CDC also notes that the use of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) may have caused MSM to increase their risk behaviors. This has “led to a false understanding of what living with HIV means and thus can lead to increased risk behaviors,” the reports show.

In other words, sexual partners of those with HIV may believe their partners are not infectious because the medications lower their viral loads.

The CDC has also determined that long-term efforts to educate and prevent the spread of new infection has caused a numbing effect on the community, and many MSM are engaging in unprotected anal intercourse.

It has also been shown that many of the new infections are among younger MSM who were not exposed to the devastation AIDS caused in the 1980s, and are therefore more likely to practice unsafe sexual practices.

The CDC reports, “During the past decade, the Internet has created new opportunities for MSM to meet sex partners. Internet users can anonymously find partners with similar sexual interests without having to leave their residence or having to risk face-to-face rejection if the behaviors they seek are not consistent with safer sex.”

The study continues, “The Internet may also normalize certain risky behaviors by making others aware of these behaviors and creating new connections between the men who engage in them. In contrast, the Internet is a potentially powerful tool for use with interventions.”

In summary, the spread of HIV has not stopped, and the search for a cure has yet to yield real results. Young gay men, especially of minority populations, are apparently at highest risk, according to these statistics.