Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by Fnord666 on Sunday May 05 2019, @05:26PM   Printer-friendly
from the looking-up dept.

An end to the Aids epidemic could be in sight after a landmark study found men whose HIV infection was fully suppressed by antiretroviral drugs had no chance of infecting their partner.

The success of the medicine means that if everyone with HIV were fully treated, there would be no further infections.

Among nearly 1,000 male couples across Europe where one partner with HIV was receiving treatment to suppress the virus, there were no cases of transmission of the infection to the HIV-negative partner during sex without a condom. Although 15 men were infected with HIV during the eight-year study, DNA testing proved that was through sex with someone other than their partner who was not on treatment.

“It’s brilliant – fantastic. This very much puts this issue to bed,” said Prof Alison Rodgers from University College London, the co-leader of the paper published in the Lancet medical journal. Earlier studies have also shown the treatment protects heterosexual couples where one partner has HIV.

She added: “Our findings provide conclusive evidence for gay men that the risk of HIV transmission with suppressive ART [antiretroviral therapy] is zero. Our findings support the message of the international U=U campaign that an undetectable viral load makes HIV untransmittable.

“This powerful message can help end the HIV pandemic by preventing HIV transmission, and tackling the stigma and discrimination that many people with HIV face.


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: -1, Troll) by Azuma Hazuki on Sunday May 05 2019, @07:09PM (34 children)

    by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Sunday May 05 2019, @07:09PM (#839321) Journal

    Why is it that most new AIDS cases are straight women in poor countries then? And why is it that gay women have lower HIV rates than our straight and bisexual sisters? The issue is male biology. Men are filthy, shortsighed, and driven by getting their rocks off.

    --
    I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   -2  
       Flamebait=1, Troll=2, Interesting=1, Total=4
    Extra 'Troll' Modifier   0  

    Total Score:   -1  
  • (Score: 3, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 05 2019, @08:08PM (22 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 05 2019, @08:08PM (#839339)

    Why is it that most new AIDS cases are straight women in poor countries then?

    Because there more poor women in poor countries then there are rich women in wealthy countries.

    And why is it that gay women have lower HIV rates than our straight and bisexual sisters?

    Because the same as HPV applies to HIV: "Transmission occurs more easily in the presence of irritated skin, as often occurs with penetrative sex" ( https://cancer-network.org/cancer-information/hpv-and-cancer/ [cancer-network.org] ).

    And there's prostitution which remains a major STD factor...

    The issue is male biology. Men are filthy, shortsighed, and driven by getting their rocks off.

    Who is filthier, the men who desire women or the women desiring men? Whichever is the answer, it's a remarkably cyclical affair I'm afraid.

    • (Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 05 2019, @08:38PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 05 2019, @08:38PM (#839352)

      Azuma will not reply because she has just been SERVED.

    • (Score: 1, Troll) by Azuma Hazuki on Sunday May 05 2019, @09:05PM (20 children)

      by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Sunday May 05 2019, @09:05PM (#839361) Journal

      Trust me on this one: the men are the filthier ones. For whatever evolutionary reasons, men are driven to spread their seed far and wide, and women are more about long-term partnerships. Even the hornier ones among us are at worst serial monogamists in a lesbian context; I have had only two sex partners, current one included, and I only ever wanted to have one. There is absolutely no desire in me to "play the field" and never was.

      Half of my previous post was rhetorical, but rhetoric or trolling are never my main purpose; it needs to be pointed out that, as you cited, penetrative sex carries greater risk. This is an inescapable reality with how male biology works, and doubly so when we're talking about gay men, since the rectum as I understand it is far more delicate than a vagina and has an absorptive tendency to begin with (it's for reclaiming water from fecal bolus before egestion). So it looks like biology puts men in an especially vulnerable place and has them at a disadvantage to begin with when it comes to diseases of this sort. Adding on the promiscuity just makes this a perfect storm.

      --
      I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
      • (Score: 3, Insightful) by aiwarrior on Sunday May 05 2019, @09:38PM (1 child)

        by aiwarrior (1812) on Sunday May 05 2019, @09:38PM (#839380) Journal

        I am always surprised by the fact that moral judgements like filthiest and other pejorative superlatives come from the supposedly most educated and culturally advanced people. A good comment that without the sarcasm and adjective would have been on the spot.

        • (Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Sunday May 05 2019, @09:58PM

          by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Sunday May 05 2019, @09:58PM (#839390) Journal

          Too many people with high education have abdicated the moral side of themselves. This is the weakness that allows the stupid and the evil to bring them down: they have no inner fire, no blood, they're as dry and brittle as a shed snakeskin, and people don't like that. It creeps other people out and makes them ambivalent or worse about education; this is where half of the perjorative stereotypes about the highly-educated come from.

          --
          I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
      • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 05 2019, @09:56PM (12 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 05 2019, @09:56PM (#839389)

        It is disgusting that you are moralizing disease, but your point isn't even supported in the infection rates.
        Are women more "filthy" because they have higher prevalence of STIs and UTIs? No, they fucking aren't. Disease isn't some fucking divine punishment for immoral behavior, so don't pretend that people deserve to be sick or that it is somehow reflective of their moral worth.

        Estimated Total Prevalence of STIs in the United States
        Men (all ages): 50,627,400
        Women (all ages): 59,569,500

        UTI prevalence in women is approximately four times that of men.

        STI prevalence (table 3):https://journals.lww.com/stdjournal/FullText/2013/03000/Sexually_Transmitted_Infections_Among_US_Women_and.1.aspx
        UTIprevalence: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301211511000819?via%3Dihub [sciencedirect.com]

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 05 2019, @10:05PM (4 children)

          by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 05 2019, @10:05PM (#839394)

          Hmm, this reply is inadequate. You need to deal with the idea that lesbian sex is inherently holy and PIV sex is filthy. She can just claim patriarchy from here to explain your STI numbers.

          For a reply that better undermines gender stereotypes, check domestic violence stats.

          • (Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Sunday May 05 2019, @10:09PM (3 children)

            by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Sunday May 05 2019, @10:09PM (#839398) Journal

            Oh lord, you think I'm one of those? There's a big blue battery-swilling vibrator in my sock drawer that says otherwise. Stuff inside the vagina feels good if done right, it's just not the be-all and end-all of sex.

            Regarding domestic violence: I've known for a long time that gay woman have a higher *reported* rate of DV, and indeed have been a victim of the same, though my partner was bisexual, not gay. Not sure reported lines up with actual though, as I can imagine many gay men would be terrified to have the local LEOs know what they are and it's easy for women to pretend to be just roommates when calling complaints in. And I'd bet a good chunk of said LEOs in certain parts of the country wouldn't take a DV complaint from a woman married to or living with a man seriously anyway.

            --
            I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
            • (Score: 3, Interesting) by realDonaldTrump on Sunday May 05 2019, @11:21PM (2 children)

              by realDonaldTrump (6614) on Sunday May 05 2019, @11:21PM (#839421) Homepage Journal

              Anomalurus said, PIV. That, I believe, is Penis In Vanilla. Not Plastic in Vagina. And you're coming back with, "oh, I love PIV, I do it with my big beautiful Vibrator and it's not filthy!!" Sorry, that's not PIV. That's known as Masturbation. Totally different thing. Because, no Penis. And, no "person." You said, "men are filthy" -- that's the exact quote. And 90% of the time or even more, Penis comes with a man attached. A filthy man, or so you think. You don't want filth inside you. Who does, right? So you go with the Plastic Toy.

              I'll tell you, not all men are filthy. Not all men. Some of us are Germophobes. We're very clean. And, very careful. Not just about sex. We eat Fast Food, because it's very clean. We don't touch door knobs. We shake hands as little as possible. If you find yourself a Germophobe. The sex is going to be much better than with Dilldo. Much better, believe me!!!!

              • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 06 2019, @12:29AM

                by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 06 2019, @12:29AM (#839446)

                I'll take my chances with the vibrator, thanks.

              • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 06 2019, @05:46PM

                by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 06 2019, @05:46PM (#839731)

                Always [wordpress.com].

                Suck on it, fake Donald Trump!

        • (Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Sunday May 05 2019, @10:05PM (5 children)

          by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Sunday May 05 2019, @10:05PM (#839395) Journal

          So why is it all fine and dandy when "scientific racists" attempt to use measured IQ scores as justification for eugenics and segregation, but not fine when someone points out that a combination of (mostly) biology and culture makes men promiscuous and uniquely exposes gay men to elevated STD hazard?

          Besides which, I did *not* say people deserve to be sick or that disease is some kind of "divine punishment for immoral behavior." As, among other reasons, I don't believe "God" works this way. I actually also don't believe promiscuity in and of itself is necessarily immoral, though in practice what it comes bundled with often is: cheating on partners, deception, exposing others to disease, etc. I personally choose not to be promiscuous but that's a lifestyle choice, not a moral judgment, just like how I also choose not to drink, smoke, take drugs, gamble, etc.

          Don't go putting words in other peoples' mouths. These diseases have consequences, but getting HIV due to unsafe sex is no more a moral judgment on you than going splat because you jumped off a cliff. It's just physics, cause and effect. You didn't deserve it, but it happened because of previous actions you took or failed to take.

          --
          I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 05 2019, @10:11PM (2 children)

            by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 05 2019, @10:11PM (#839399)

            Who says that was ok? We're talking about something that was common decades ago, but it's now illegal.

            As far as the latter goes, if you're ok with the same logic being applied to the good digging mentality in women, then at least you're consistent. The problem more than anything else is that women get away with all sorts of sexist stuff, and what you posted is the equivalent against men.

            • (Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Sunday May 05 2019, @10:23PM

              by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Sunday May 05 2019, @10:23PM (#839403) Journal

              Hell yes, I have a problem with that. And I have a problem with the few but real false rape accusations that get made too, if only because every single one makes it harder and harder for the actual victims of rape to get justice.

              --
              I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 06 2019, @05:46PM

              by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 06 2019, @05:46PM (#839730)

              Huh, I never knew women had a good (sic) digging mentality. I'll have to keep that in mind when I decide to dig a trench for the power line to my garage.

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 05 2019, @11:03PM (1 child)

            by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 05 2019, @11:03PM (#839414)

            "So why is it all fine and dandy when "scientific racists""

            Where did you get that from my comment?

            Your main point was that "Men are filthy" or, at the very least, men are filthier than women. You choose to support this claim by stating that men are more likely to participate in some sexual activities that have a higher risk of contracting STIs; however, when you look at STI prevalence the numbers are about 20% higher in women.

            Saying anal sex has a higher chance of transmitting HIV is not a moral judgement.
            Saying gay men have a higher chance of contracting HIV is not a moral judgement.
            Saying "men are filthy" is a moral judgement.

            Filthy:
            covered with, containing, or characterized by filth
            Vile
            Obscene

            Filth:
            foul or putrid matter, especially: loathsome dirt or refuse
            moral corruption or defilement
            something that tends to corrupt or defile

            • (Score: 2) by realDonaldTrump on Sunday May 05 2019, @11:37PM

              by realDonaldTrump (6614) on Sunday May 05 2019, @11:37PM (#839424) Homepage Journal

              Welcome. You've found Soylent News. Otherwise known as, the Internet Home "Page" of Racial Facts. And, Racial "Science." So interesting!!!!

        • (Score: 2) by driverless on Monday May 06 2019, @05:52AM

          by driverless (4770) on Monday May 06 2019, @05:52AM (#839513)

          Disease isn't some fucking divine punishment for immoral behavior

          Unfortunately for a lot of people in this discussion, and even more people outside of this forum, it is.

      • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 05 2019, @10:46PM (2 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 05 2019, @10:46PM (#839411)

        Trust me on this one: the men are the filthier ones.

        No. Show me proof.

        men are driven to spread their seed far and wide, and women are more about long-term partnerships

        Drive is meaningless. Only results matters. Where straight men need a firm hold on the illusion of sainthood, women accept the filth. Even without kids involved in the equation, men are far more likely to leave their partners if they turn unfaithful. Chauvinists will say it's a sign of weak character. Feminists will say it's a sign of their weak position in society and their attachment to their marital status. But in the end all it means is that women put status before any sense of decency and propriety.

        so when we're talking about gay men

        We aren't. You are. I'm straight and don't feel it's my place to speak on behalf of gay men in these matters. Alas, the discourse is taking me to undesirable places again...

        it looks like biology puts men in an especially vulnerable place

        Gay men and straight women. Both, more numerous than lesbians but less numerous than straight men. So, a few Karnaugh maps here... Some stats there... Well now, it seems straight men are less filthy than straight women. But hey, lesbians (so long as they avoid those unclean/impure bisexuals), are pretty ok too. Hold on now, aren't straight men attracted to lesbians per my porn folder? Oh dear... My purity-o-meter is tingling...

        Ok, so all this filth psychobabble is dumb and getting us nowhere especially after you already admitted it's just rhetoric. So veering us back to the somewhat harder sciences, (1 + 1)-ES wise, males select for better looking and thus healthier (long term) gene pools while women select for social status indicators as means to secure resources for their offspring (short term). Both strategies are valid at different circumstances and both risk different medical problems. Lesbians and gay men are completely irrelevant to this discussion since they don't procreate anyhow and only serve an expanded family role in some models.

        Now, to risk taking this shaky biology science into the realms of the pseudo-sciences of stats and economics, it's not wrong to say that any amount of sex done by LGBTs is "filthy" since it's pure risk with no rewards. Of course, same can be said for anal sex between heterosexual partners so we're following the line of thinking that basically leads to Catholic dogma, a place no sane men, women or to-be-determined-at-a-later-date should follow.

        Anyhow, in the end, I'm sure we can all agree to settle this useless banter on one point: Lesbian porn is great.

        There, an amicable discourse in the end. I go to sleep reassured knowing the internet is a better place to waste time in now.

        GN

        • (Score: 2) by fyngyrz on Sunday May 05 2019, @11:11PM

          by fyngyrz (6567) on Sunday May 05 2019, @11:11PM (#839415) Journal

          it's not wrong to say that any amount of sex done by LGBTs is "filthy" since it's pure risk with no rewards.

          Yes, it's wrong. Completely wrong. It's absurdly biased based on preconceptions of your own.

          I don't breed. I don't want to breed. I have made damned sure I can't breed. I would consider it a huge penalty if I were to spawn off a child or several (hence making sure I cannot.)

          One of the rewards, for me, is not spawning — $deity/$evolutionist forbid. Ugh.

          Another is the act; the affection and the pleasure; the temptation, the creativity, the plumage, and the dance of interaction both pre and during. "The act" covers a lot of ground, absolutely none of it with intent to spawn.

          If you want to breed, and consider it a reward, that's just absolutely dandy. I'm all for it, really. But let's not go painting everyone with the same brush, shall we? Because that's just bullshit.

          --
          Life without religion is like a fish without a bicycle.

        • (Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Monday May 06 2019, @12:17AM

          by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Monday May 06 2019, @12:17AM (#839438) Journal

          You have weird ideas about half-plus-a-bit of the human race. I most certainly am not selecting for status in a partner; we're both poor as hell. Thank you for at least understanding that the "telos of sex is reproduction" approach is both utterly outside the bounds of reality and leads, as you said, to basically the Catholic psychosis.

          "Lesbian" porn almost never is. You know what you call a gay girl with a French manicure? Single. Dateless. Celibate. Ow, ow, owwww. If you want actual lesbian porn, look for Crashpad, but be warned: lots of the actors aren't what the mainstream porn industry tells straight men lesbians look like. Plenty of butches, futches, other in-betweeners, and even transwomen. I'm pretty far into the femme end of the spectrum but can appreciate a soft butch.

          --
          I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 06 2019, @05:35PM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 06 2019, @05:35PM (#839723)

        It's like the old (and not very funny) joke:

        Q. What does a gay man bring to a second date?
        A. Second date? What second date?

        Q. What does a gay woman bring to a second date?
        A. A U-Haul.

        If you're not bright enough to figure this one out, then I'd recommend some fourth-grade schoolyard education.

        • (Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Monday May 06 2019, @06:17PM

          by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Monday May 06 2019, @06:17PM (#839748) Journal

          There is some truth to those jokes. Most stereotypes have some basis in truth, however small. I've known friends who "U-Hauled" and it didn't work out. The reasons are all compelling enough, but they neglect human nature.

          --
          I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
  • (Score: 3, Funny) by PartTimeZombie on Sunday May 05 2019, @10:07PM

    by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Sunday May 05 2019, @10:07PM (#839396)

    Men are filthy, shortsighed, and driven by getting their rocks off.

    Sums me up pretty well. Have we met?

  • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 06 2019, @02:23AM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 06 2019, @02:23AM (#839475)

    "Men are filthy, shortsighed, and driven by getting their rocks off."

    And because every man was birthed by a woman, with natural selection being what it is, women are largely responsible for this fact.

    • (Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Monday May 06 2019, @04:11AM

      by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Monday May 06 2019, @04:11AM (#839500) Journal

      ...someone...does not understand how natural selection works. Holy shit, that is in "not even wrong" territory.

      --
      I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by r_a_trip on Monday May 06 2019, @10:52AM (5 children)

    by r_a_trip (5276) on Monday May 06 2019, @10:52AM (#839567)

    That is a remarkable display of misandry. It is also a distortion of human sexuality. Both sexual men and women desire sexual release (and other sexual genders too). Which is both natural and a positive thing. Slut shaming is so twothousand-and-late.

    Sexually tranmitted infections are a fact of life. No need to blame one kind of genitals over another. It takes two to tango.

    • (Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Monday May 06 2019, @02:26PM (4 children)

      by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Monday May 06 2019, @02:26PM (#839623) Journal

      You want misandry, buddy? Talk to the men, yes, the MEN, who run the world, who tell boys and other men that they're worthless disposable pieces of trash who rate nothing unless they have this much money, that car, so many women. Talk to the men starting wars where mostly innocent men go to kill mostly innocent other men (and women and children) for the guilty men who run the show and get rich off of it. Talk to the men who tell injured men and boys to "walk it off," who destroy half their humanity from the inside out. Talk to the men running the segments of the porn industry--most of it, in fact--that glorify coercion, taking advantage of people, tricking them, drunken sex, and the list goes on.

      If you think misandry mostly comes from women, your eyes are sealed shut. No one hurts men in this world like other men do.

      --
      I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
      • (Score: 1, Insightful) by r_a_trip on Monday May 06 2019, @03:13PM (3 children)

        by r_a_trip (5276) on Monday May 06 2019, @03:13PM (#839650)

        Nice deflection, but I didn't comment on their misandry. I specifically commented on yours and yours alone. No other women implied. I know that dehumanizing the people you dislike works a charm to dismiss them, but in essence we all try to be decent and a little compassion and empathy goes a long way.

        Also, claiming that men are the worst self-haters in the way you do, is another display of misandrist thought. It is exactly the pidgeonholing that keeps youth in the closet and depressed. It is what perpetuates the stereo type that being born with a penis obligates you to be a cold hearted mofo. We need more accepting you-be-you and far less this-is-your-assigned-societal-template-conform-or-else.

        That said, I know it is not easy to let go of damage done. It is hard to look inside and let go of hurt and the defense mechanisms attached. It is painful to see the same flaws inside that you know cause so much hurt outside. The only countermeasure is practising compassion and acceptance.

        • (Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Monday May 06 2019, @03:47PM (2 children)

          by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Monday May 06 2019, @03:47PM (#839660) Journal

          ...do yourself a favor and don't quit your day job to become a psychologist. Or a comedian. None of that is false: women don't generally start wars, we'd never come up with something like circumcision, we're not the ones who tell boys and men to stuff their emotions and leave their wounds untreated, and we're not the ones telling them "this-is-your-assigned-societal-template-conform-or-else."

          You, it seems, would not know misandry if it grabbed you by the sack and yanked. I have less reason to dislike men than straight women do, because I don't have to deal with you in the most dangerous positions a woman can be in.

          --
          I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
          • (Score: 0, Flamebait) by r_a_trip on Monday May 06 2019, @04:55PM (1 child)

            by r_a_trip (5276) on Monday May 06 2019, @04:55PM (#839694)

            Still deflecting. I called you out on your misandry, you keep pointing to others. This is not about others, this is about you unable to see men as human beings. Suit yourself though. Cultivated hatred eats away at the soul.

            • (Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Monday May 06 2019, @06:21PM

              by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Monday May 06 2019, @06:21PM (#839752) Journal

              You think I don't see men as humans? If that were the case I wouldn't spend time thinking about them; I'd have joined one of those ridiculous lesbian-separatist cults ages ago and deluded myself into thinking men are some kind of aberration.

              That's not the case. You make up just under half the human race, and it's still very much a man's world. I am *wary* of men, yes, but here's a newsflash for you: virtually every woman is. Straight women moreso than gay ones, I've noticed, as they have to deal with falling in love with and lusting after you, with all the vulnerability that opens them up to in case they just happen to fall for the wrong sort.

              You are seeing hatred where there isn't any, and conversely, missing hatred where it very much does exist. Know who hates you? The very wealthy, most of whom are men.

              --
              I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
  • (Score: 2) by krishnoid on Monday May 06 2019, @08:35PM (1 child)

    by krishnoid (1156) on Monday May 06 2019, @08:35PM (#839821)

    Not physically filthy, right? It's a stereotype, but don't gay men have good grooming habits for the most part?

    • (Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Monday May 06 2019, @11:22PM

      by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Monday May 06 2019, @11:22PM (#839896) Journal

      The really obviously gay ones I've met do. There was one at my last job who basically looked like a skinny Freddy Mercury. He had better fashion sense than not just me but also my straight sister.

      --
      I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...