Enjoy sex, and wear a condom, advises the NZAF. The New Zealand AIDS Foundation says a surge in syphilis cases in Auckland and Hamilton is down to people not using condoms. A health alert has gone out in both centres, with gay and bisexual men urged to get a free test. New Zealand AIDS Foundation Executive Director Shaun Robinson says syphilis is highly infectious, especially for gay men having unprotected anal sex, because bareback anal sex is a very easy way for infections to enter the body. He says ESR STI research shows that 86 per cent of all syphilis cases in New Zealand are in gay and bisexual men. “The chances per sex act of acquiring syphilis are considerably higher than for HIV. This means that when syphilis gets into a network of guys who are having bareback sex it can spread very quickly.” Robinson says the syphilis diagnoses will mean that there are people out there not using condoms and syphilis “has done its inevitable thing”. “This could be being driven by people relying for their HIV protection on undetectable viral load in HIV positive guys on meds. While someone who has an undetectable viral load does have a significantly reduced risk of passing on HIV they and other partners are not protected at all from syphilis, gonorrhoea or any other STI, including Hepatitis C which is often spread sexually by blood to blood contact when there are ruptures during unprotected heavy arse play.” Robinson says the other concerning thing is that syphilis and other STIs increase the viral load of a person with HIV, making them more able to spread HIV, and it also increases the chances of an HIV negative person with syphilis contracting HIV because their immune system is already weakened by the STI. “It all adds up to the reality that people can have as much sex and fun as they want but they need to protect themselves and their community by wearing condoms for anal sex. Love your condom because it lets you fuck safely.”
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Thursday, 4th December 2014 - 2:21pm