HIV This Week

Mao L, Crawford JM, Hospers HJ, et al. Serosorting' in casual anal sex of HIV-negative gay men is noteworthy and is increasing in Sydney, Australia. AIDS 2006;20: 1204-06.

The authors found that ‘serosorting’ (defined as engaging in unprotected anal intercourse with casual partners who claim to be HIV negative) has been increasing among HIV-negative gay men in Sydney. They conclude that prevention and intervention programmes are urgently needed to alert HIV-negative gay men to the risks associated with ‘serosorting’, and remind them of the need for correct and consistent condom use.

Wolitski compared MSM who considered themselves to be on the "down low" (DL) with MSM who did not (non-DL MSM). 20% of the 455 MSM self-identified as DL. Blacks and Hispanics were more likely than Whites to self identify as DL. MSM who did not identify as gay were more likely than gay-identified MSM to describe themselves as DL. DL-identified MSM were less likely to have had seven or more male partners in the prior 30 days, but were more likely to have had a female sex partner and to have had unprotected vaginal sex. DL-identified MSM were less likely to have ever been tested for HIV than were non-DL MSM. The authors conclude that prevention agencies should expand existing programs for MSM to include specific efforts to reach DL MSM.