AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), expressed alarm over a Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) article that reported a startling 13% increase in HIV/AIDS cases among men who have sex with men (MSM) in the United States over the past four years. The article prompted AHF to renew its call for effective and sustained prevention efforts and a fast tracking of routine HIV testing nationwide. The JAMA article, which examines the upward trend among MSM in Western countries with a focus on the United States, attributes the uptick in infection rates to a rise in unsafe sex due to, among other factors, reduced fear over the disease’s potentially deadly consequences, lack of awareness of HIV status and substance abuse issues, particularly the use of methamphetamines and alcohol.
