Newly infected by safer sex?

[Guest guest]

Jim,I think many are in the same boat.  Over the last few years, I've talked to so many older gay men who, after years of thinking they were doing it all "safe," suddenly turn up positive.I suspect that a few of them might have taken a few chances, but there have been so many, I think it's what your counsellor says.  Low risk is not no risk.  You roll the dice so many times, and eventually, you come up snake eyes.The following study from 1999 may at least let you know that you're not alone.  I'm sorry that this  happened to you, but you're going to be fine.HIV risk of sex practices calculated  Keen The Washington Blade - August 13, 1999 http://www.aegis.com/news/wb/1999/WB990804.html ----------------------------------------------  Researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and several universities report this month that their research into the relative HIV hazards of various sex practices confirms earlier reports -- unprotected anal intercourse as a bottom partner is the highest risk, while oral sex is the lowest.  The researchers surveyed 2,189 Gay and bisexual men in three cities (San Francisco, Chicago, and Denver) every six months over a period of two years to determine what sexual practices they engaged in and whether the men had become HIV-infected. Specifically, the researchers were looking for men who were engaging in high-risk sexual behaviors, and they eventually analyzed data from 1,583 men.  Of these 1,583 men, 49 men (3 percent) began testing positive for HIV infection during the course of the study. The researchers then compared the sexual practices of these men to the men who did not test positive.  What they found was that the men who tested positive were much more likely to have been the passive partner in anal intercourse without a condom and with a partner they knew to be HIV-positive. Fourteen percent of the men who tested positive were bottoms in unprotected anal sex with HIV-positive partners, compared to only 1 percent of the men who did not test positive.  Forty-five percent of the men who tested positive said they had been bottoms in unprotected anal intercourse with a partner whose HIV status they did not know, compared to 27 percent of the men who did not test positive.  But what interested the researchers more was the fact that, if 45 percent of the men who tested positive were likely infected through sexual practices known to have a high risk, then 55 percent become infected through "other types of contact."  "Provided the [participants'] reporting was accurate," noted the researchers, "this implies that a majority of new infections took place via other types of contact, which may have included episodes in which condoms were used but failed."  The most common sexual practice engaged in by the group of men who became infected was anal intercourse with a condom -- as either the top or bottom partner. Following that, the most common sexual practices were anal intercourse as the top partner and not using a condom, and being the receptive partner in oral sex in which the insertive partner did not use a condom.  Applying a number to quantify the risk of each practice, the researchers identified anal intercourse as the bottom with a top partner known to be HIV-infected and not using a condom (the highest risk) at 0.82 percent per contact. (The study's authors noted that nine men became infected after only one or two contacts of unprotected anal intercourse as the bottom.)  The same intercourse with the top using a condom was identified at 0.18 percent per contact. Being the receptive partner in oral sex in which the top does not use a condom was identified at 0.04 percent per contact, a risk that was the lowest for all sexual practices but "not without risk."  The study is reported in the Aug. 1 issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology.   On Apr 26, 2006, at 8:02 AM, PozHealth wrote:After practicing low-risk sex for years, and after at least twenty regular  negative tests at least once a year, about 14 mos ago I found myself HIV+.  My counselor says, "Low risk does not equal no risk," and she's sure right  in my case. By "low-risk" I mean NEVER having anal sex without condoms, and almost never  taking cum orally. Just wondering if others are in this same boat. Thanks, Jim Barrowpozbod@...