The number of adolescents infected by the HIV virus has jumped by one third over the past decade, the UN's health agency said: “More than two million adolescents between the ages of 10 and 19 years are living with HIV,” marking a 33% rise since 2001.Amoung gay men: the upward trajectory of HIV infection worldwide points to a dire future for that demographic, even as overall HIV incidence rates in the general population have been dropping. Kevin Fenton, MD, PhD, the national director of health and wellbeing at Public Health England, presented a report on the epidemic among gay men to the British HIV Association Fall 2013 Conference: In low-income countries, MSM have an estimated eight-fold higher HIV prevalence rate compared with the general population, and MSM in high-income nations have 23 times the prevalence rate of the general population. There is apparently no country in the world where the HIV prevalence rate among MSM is lower than that of the population at large. Part of the explanation for the disparity is biological. Anal sex is an estimated 18 times more efficient at transmitting HIV than vaginal intercourse. In addition: The leaders in the fields of HIV prevention among young gay and bisexual men came together (November 21, 2013) for the CDC’s webcast, “Combating a Resurgence of HIV Among Young Men.” The panel featured the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Jonathan Mermin who said that today two-thirds of all new infections occur in gay and bisexual men. They are the only population in country where new infections are rising, more than 12% in past years. One in five gay and bisexual men is HIV-positive. And in some areas like Baltimore, 36% of gay and bisexual men are infected with HIV. Gay men are at the center of the HIV epidemic, but youngest men face the biggest threat. Young MSM of color account for 1 in 3 new infections among MSM.
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