UK Nightclub Survey: 41% Of Poz Gay Men Unaware Of Status

A survey conducted in gay nightclubs in the UK revealed that 41% of the men who tested HIV positive were unaware of their status.

The survey, which took oral fluid samples from over 3500 men in gay bars, clubs and sauna's around the UK, found that 9% of men who took part in the survey were HIV positive. The surveys were carried out in Glasgow and Edinburgh by the MRC, and in London, Brighton and Manchester by the UCL Centre for Sexual Health and HIV Research.

Of the 3501 men who took part in the survey 318 (9%) were found to be HIV infected and of these 131 (41.2%) were unaware of their status. 92% of those who were found to be HIV infected have previously had and HIV test and 62.3% thought that they were still HIV negative. The results also found that men with undiagnosed or diagnosed HIV positive status were more likely to have unsafe sex then men who were HIV negative. The results show that although persuading more men to find out there status is important, more work needs to be done to persuade men who are aware or unsure of their HIV status to practice safer sex

On the upside, it seems encouraging that only 9% of the total sample were positive.