The statistics are the statistics, not ignorance. Take a look at the report.

Right. And it's not even just about being gay. Who has 400 sexual partners to begin with? Does this guy think he's a rock star like my man Freddy?

http://folk.uio.no/hanakrem/music/jpgs/queen3.jpg

-Rudey

spreading
 

http://www.365gay.com/newscon05/02/021505calHIV.htm

(San Diego, California) Health officials say that a rare strain of HIV that is resistant to most AIDS treatments may have struck the west coast.

In a hastily arranged news conference late Monday afternoon, San Diego County public health officer Nancy Bowen said that the strain may have infected a San Diego man.

"[His] HIV has a similar molecular makeup as the patient in New York City," Bowen told reporters.

The man tested positive for the rare HIV strain last fall, Bowen said, after his health provider sent a blood sample to ViroLogic, an HIV typing reference laboratory in Northern California.

Bowen said that even though the strain resists treatment health authorities in the county were not alarmed until last week when New York City's health department released details about a similar case. (story)

After the New York disclosure health departments across the country began to check for similarities.

On Sunday NYC officials said that two more possible cases are being investigated.

In Boston, on Monday, health officials said they are several similar cases over the past few years. (story)

But, it still is not known if all of these cases are linked, indicating a new virulent strain of HIV is spreading across the country. Tests to determine that are underway and it could take a week or more for the results to be known.

In the meantime, Bowen urged calm.

"I don't think it will do anybody any good to get panicked about this," she said.

The New York patient who sparked the nationwide alert is described as a male in his mid-40s who reported multiple male sex partners and unprotected anal intercourse, often while using crystal meth.

Health authorities are trying to track down those partners.

But, in San Diego, Bowen said that the identity of the suspected case there is not known. The reference lab is trying to find his doctor but if the man were tested anonymously, where a code rather than a name is used, it may be impossible to find him Bowen said.

Meanwhile, health officials in Trinidad believe that a man with HIV in Port-of-Spain is also infected with the suspected super strain.

While drug resistance is increasingly common among patients who have been treated for HIV, cases of 3-DCR HIV in newly-diagnosed, previously untreated patients are extremely rare.

This strain also causes a rapid onset of AIDS. Usually full blown AIDS occurs more than ten years after initial infection with HIV. In the original New York patient's case, the onset of AIDS appears to have occurred within two to three months.

scary, very very scary.

Okay from what I understand...
 

The strains are slightly mutated... But no more virulent than before...

It's the people practicing unprotected sex with multiple partners in addition to drug addiction that causes a severely depressed immune system...

So, folks, if you already starting off with a bad immune system and prone to getting insanity, then getting this "mutant HIV" strain is gonna make matters worse...

Also there are folks who are rapid responders to HIV infection... Such as 3-4 months coming down with full blown AIDS symptoms compared to those folks that are slow responders--like 6 months to beyond a year...

Dr. Gallo and others in the field think that it is the way the immune system responds to cause inflammation (natural immunity) rather than the standard antibody response with a cytotoxic T cell response (acquired immunity--i.e. T-cells and B-cells)...

An inflammatory response (i.e. swelling) is activated by many illicit drugs... Especially Crystal Meth... So, add HIV up into the mix... And you've got a case for disaster...

The doctors also think that dudes could have been infected by 2 different strains of the virus that attack at two different functions on the CD4+ T cells... One kills the T cell receptor response, the other kills the signal transduction response... Which means the the CD4+ T cells cannot tell the other acquired immune cells what to do... But for some reason, antigens from the alpha-MHC receptors II on macrophages and B-cells still get presented to the CD4+ T cells... Go figure...

Here is evolution for you... And it won't be televised...

Also, to add...
 

Think about folks... Especially for our new Med Students...

Dude walks in complaining of a severe flu like symptoms, he tests positive for drug use and has scaring on his backside... He as some blood coming out of one or two of his orifaces and a simple blood test looking on the scope shows that there is increased immune cells around--especially tons of leukocytes, but no lymphocytes... There is huge swellings around all his lymph nodes and they are abcessed (soft--I think--I'm not a physician)... But these are what physicians, PA's and nurses look for...

A trained healthcare provider then asks him if he has had unprotected sex within the last year... And patient says yes. And maybe ask if the number was over 5... Then the referring provider will ask the patient if he would like to take an AIDS test... Patient will say yea or nay... If patient agrees, then blood is drawn and sent out... If patient says nay, then treatment for the severe flu like symptoms with all the pus filled lymph nodes and bleeding out of orifaces will not get treated without the test...

That's insurance and skyrocketting healthcare costs for you...

definitely very scary :(