Pubdate: Tue, 24 Jul 2007 Source: Herald Sun (Australia) Copyright: 2007 Herald and Weekly Times Contact: http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/187 Author: Tamara McLean Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) ICE FUELLING HIV EPIDEMIC HIV is on the rise among young gay men caught up with dangerous party drugs and the risky sex scene that goes with it, research has confirmed. A US survey of young men newly-diagnosed with HIV shows that an increasing number are using methamphetamines like the dangerous stimulant ice, the International AIDS Society (IAS) conference in Sydney has been told. Between 2000 and 2005, the number of HIV-positive American men under 30 who also took club drugs rose from 1.7 to five per cent. The study is one of the first in the world to strongly link methamphetamines and HIV infection - a trend that leading Australian HIV researcher Professor David Cooper believes could be fuelling the resurgence of the virus here. Australia's infection rates have almost doubled in the last seven years and new figures also show an increasing number - now one in eight young Australians - have had speed or the more potent ice in the past year. Australia only has anecdotal evidence of the link but this new study, from interviews conducted in the south-eastern US states, shows a clear trend. Lead researcher Dr Christopher Hurt said while it could not confirm that club drugs directly caused the infection, there were definite increasing trends over time that couldn't be overlooked. Linked to their club drug use, these HIV-positive men were also increasingly reporting that they met sex partners in clubs and had sex in clubs or arranged sex with anonymous partners over the internet. Dr Hurt said previous studies had already shown that gay methamphetamine users were more at risk of HIV infection. "The libido is stimulated on methamphetamine and we also know that if you stay awake for hours and hours and hours you're more likely to have marathon sessions of sex," he said. "And more sex equals more risk for this group." The sex itself is also more dangerous because the drugs blunt any pain. He said people who had unprotected anal intercourse may not know they had been damaged so the risk of transmission was increased in that way. "And many men place the drugs inter-rectally which can also cause tears inside and make it even more risky," he said. The research confirmed that gay sex and club drugs were a dangerous combination that has the potential spread HIV "like wildfire", he said. "Gay men were already at risk and now they're becoming even more vulnerable," Dr Hurt said. Prof Cooper, co-convener of the conference and director of the National Centre for HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research, said the trend was alarming. "The effect of methamphetamine on behaviour is disastrous for the gay population," he said. "And I fear that young straight Australians experimenting are also more at risk." - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman