Half of Men Who Pay Prostitutes May Be HIV Positive According to Study

• A new study has revealed that men living in Africa who pay for sex are more likely to contract HIV/Aids
• The study also showed an alarming trend that half the men who paid for sex were HIV positive but were not considered as part of the key population
• As a result, they are not considered for prioritisation when it came to treatment and prevention

MONTREAL - A new study has revealed that one in ten men in South Africa pays for sex and of those half of them are HIV positive.

The University of Montreal in Canada and Imperial College London commissioned a study that found that men who pay for sex are 50% more likely to be HIV positive.

This has caused concern due to the fact that men who pay for sex are not recognised as a key group and are not prioritised for HIV prevention according to TimesLIVE.

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The study suggested that these men should be actively considered for HIV prevention and more efforts need to be made to determine the exact number of African men who pay for sex.

The report examined data from 87 population-based surveys from Africa between 2000 and 2020. It revealed that only 62% of men who paid for sex used a condom.

The study revealed that men who were clients of sex workers were more likely to test positive for HIV and that men who lived in urban areas were more likely to pay for sex.

Lead researcher and epidemiologist Dr Mathieu Maheu-Giroux said that this was due to a failure to recognise men who paid for sex as a key population in the fight against HIV/Aids.

Earlier in February, AllAfrica reported that the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) was preparing to launch its sixth survey into the prevalence of HIV in South Africa.

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"Fabulous": Stem cell transplant cures US woman of HIV, 14 months virus free

Earlier, Briefly News reported that a leukaemia patient in the US, who also had HIV, has been cured of the virus by a first-of-its-kind stem cell transplant.

Her story was presented as a case study at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Denver. The doctors who treated her used umbilical cord blood, which is an innovative new method.

The woman was initially receiving the blood as part of her leukaemia treatment, but doctors noticed it eliminated the HIV from her body without any antiretroviral (ARV) medication. SABC News reports that she has been free of HIV for 14 months and is in remission from leukaemia.

Source: Briefly News