New HIV Cases Rise in Young Gay Men

As reported in Tuesday's New York Times Online, the number of new HIV cases has been steadily decreasing annually, though now those gains are beginning to level off a bit.  One of the reasons is a significant increase in the number of young gay men, ages 13 to 29, who are sero-converting for a variety of reasons.  This doesn't really surprise me, as a few years ago, I met a very handsome, early 20-something Hispanic guy who had gotten involved in crystal meth use and began engaging in risky sex.  I recently saw a somewhat surprising study that reported that young people are actually more aware of the risks of both soft and hard-core drugs and unprotected sex, but were still even more likely to engage in the behaviors.  There is clearly a generational difference going on here, with men 30 and especially 40 and older having been more likely to experience the devastating effects of HIV/AIDS in their friends and communities, though their rates remain high still, which suggests prevention efforts are either failing or individuals are choosing to engage in high-risk behaviors knowing the risks.