The Abstinence Clearinghouse Blog

Five years ago the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention outlined a plan to cut the number of HIV cases in half by 2005. Five years later the number of Americans living with HIV has jumped to a tragic milestone—more than one million Americans are infected with HIV– and the number of annual new infections may have increased from about 40,000 to 60,000 according to the CDC’s own numbers. (After the article examples of CDC HIV/AIDS prevention programs are posted. Warning some are graphic.)

In fairness to the CDC, it was impossible for the agency to determine exactly what “cutting in half” the number of HIV cases even meant since the agency never really knew how many Americans were infected due to the failure of some states—such as California, Maryland and Illinois—to actually collect HIV data as is done with every other communicable disease.

In a related note, the CDC had also launched a plan to eliminate syphilis in the U.S. by 2005 only to see the number of new syphilis infections rise.

Abstinence advocates are on location this week at the CDC’s annual HIV Prevention Conference – privately called Hedonism Central. The hair-raising stories being told by the advocates will be complied into a report so that the efforts to literally shove condoms down the throats of children (after all, they are now mint flavored) so that abstinence advocates can fight these plans.

-Education

Associated Press
June 13, 2005 Monday 12:50 PM Eastern Time

More Than a Million in U.S. Lives With HIV

BY DANIEL YEE; Associated Press Writer

DATELINE: ATLANTA

For the first time since the height of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, more than a million Americans are believed to be living with the virus that causes AIDS, the government said Monday.

The latest estimate is both good and bad news - reflecting the success of drugs that keep more people alive and the failure of the government to “break the back” of the AIDS epidemic by its stated goal of 2005.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that between 1,039,000 and 1,185,000 people in the United States were living with HIV in December 2003. The previous estimate from 2002 showed that between 850,000 and 950,000 people had the AIDS virus.

The jump reflects the role of medicines that have allowed people infected with the virus to live longer, said Dr. Ronald Valdiserri, deputy director of the CDC’s National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention.

“While treatment advances have been an obvious godsend to those living with the disease, it presents new challenges for prevention,” Valdiserri said.

The challenges include overcoming a failure by the government to meet its 2005 goal of cutting in half the estimated 40,000 new HIV infections that have occurred every year since the 1990s. Then, Dr. Robert Janssen of the CDC pledged the government campaign would “break the back” of the epidemic.

CDC officials previously have said the country’s HIV infection rate has been “relatively stable” and without change. As the National HIV Prevention Conference was set to begin this week, Valdiserri said no new infection data will be available until next year.

However, recent outbreaks of HIV and sexually transmitted diseases in major cities around the country offer a hint that new infections may be as high as 60,000 cases a year, rather than the government estimate of 40,000, said Dr. Carlos del Rio, an Emory University professor of medicine.

“The U.S. has had a clear failure in HIV prevention - I think the increase in prevalence is a reflection of that, of the poor job we do in HIV prevention,” del Rio said.

He added that the higher number is not as surprising as why the country has not been able to curb new infections. He said the CDC hasn’t been given adequate resources to tackle HIV prevention and that experts have focused too much on whether it’s better to promote abstinence or condom use to stop the spread of the virus.

“We’re debating too much what to do and are not doing enough,” he said.

At the same time, reaching the 1 million mark is “a sign of both victory and failure,” said Terje Anderson, executive director of the National Association of People Living With AIDS.

“Part of the reason the number is so big is we’re not dying as before,” he said. “But the other problem is we have not made a significant dent in new infections.”

Estimating the number of Americans with HIV has always been a difficult task for health officials, but this year’s figures are believed to be the most accurate ever thanks to wider case reporting.

In the 1990s, the CDC and other agencies generally agreed that between 600,000 and 900,000 people had the virus, according to the University of California-San Francisco’s Center for HIV Information.

Previous estimates - as high as 1.5 million people - from the 1980s were later determined to be too high. For example, the CDC estimated in 1986 that between 1 million and 1.5 million people had HIV. In 1987, that was revised to 945,000 to 1.4 million and was refined in 1990 to 800,000 to 1.2 million.

The CDC’s latest estimates indicate blacks account for 47 percent of HIV cases; gay and bisexual men make up 45 percent of those living with the virus that causes AIDS, the health agency believes.

In 2003, the rates of AIDS cases were 58 per 100,000 in the black population, 10 per 100,000 Hispanics, 6 per 100,000 whites, 8 per 100,000 American Indian/Alaska native population, and 4 per 100,000 Asian/Pacific Islanders.

The CDC also warned those demographics may soon change because heterosexual blacks, women and others infected after having high-risk sex (such as with someone with HIV, an injection-drug user or a man who has sex with other men) now account for a larger proportion of those living with HIV than those who are living with full-blown AIDS.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Monday that more than 1 million Americans are now living with HIV. Here is the latest U.S. data:

Estimated number of HIV cases:
1,039,000 to 1,185,000 in December 2003

Number of new HIV infections:
40,000 per year

AIDS rate, by race or ethnicity:
Blacks: 58 per 100,000 black population
Hispanics: 20 per 100,000 Hispanic population
Whites: 6 per 100,000 white population

AIDS cases:
43,171 in 2003, a 4.3 percent increase from the 41,289 cases in 2002

AIDS deaths:
18,017 in 2003, a figure that has remained stable since 1999

HIV ignorance:
24 percent to 27 percent are unaware they are infected

HIV testing:
From 1998 to 2002, proportion of adults tested for HIV during routine doctor visit doubled

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Activities paid by the CDC for HIV/AIDS Prevention, brought to the people of San Francisco by STOP AIDS Project. (*** indicated edits for decency standards)

Got Love? #2 - Flirt / Date / Score
February 10, 2004
7 p.m. – 9 p.m.
STOP AIDS Main Office
2128 - 15th Street

Part two of our four part series. Want to flirt with greater finesse and date with more confidence? Who doesn’t? Share your expertise in this interactive conversation and you’ll hear how others are successful in meeting guys today.

Dirty Thoughts, Part 2
Saturday, April 5, 2003
Location: EROS
Event starts at 4:00 pm

A new 4-part erotic writing workshop. Start by exploring your fantasies and get support for you creative writing process. Open to all skill levels. Limited space, register now. Attendance required at all 4 workshops. Supplies and snacks provided.

Dirty Thoughts, Session 2
Saturday, April 12, 2003
Event starts at 4:00 pm

Share your writing with the group and get constructive feedback. Your writing will evolve and so will your thinking about what turns you and others on.

Dirty Thoughts, Session 3
Saturday, April 19, 2003
Location: EROS
Event starts at 4:00 pm

Bring in your new (or revised) work and get more feedback. What really gets you going? What seems forbidden or “dirty” and why? How does HIV factor into the erotic for you?

Dirty Thoughts, Session 4
Saturday, April 26, 2003
Location: EROS
Event starts at 4:00pm

Share your finished product or your work in progress. Talk about how the constructive criticism and dialogue about your work & life over the past 4 weeks has affected you.

In Our Prime: Men For Hire
Thursday, April 10, 2003
Location: STOP AIDS, 2128 15th St.

Joseph Itiel presents practical tips and covers the seven guidelines for safe and friendly relations with escorts. This is an event you won’t want to miss!

Flirt, Date, Score
August 13, 2003
7 p.m. – 9 p.m.
STOP AIDS Main Office
2128 - 15th Street
San Francisco

Want to flirt with greater finesse and date with more confidence? Who doesn’t? Share your expertise and hear how others are successful in meeting guys and staying safe today.

Leather****K: What’s Your Scene, Man?
Dec 13, 2001
7:00 pm at:
EROS
2051 Market St.
San Francisco

How do you prepare for a BDSH [Bondage, Domination and S&M] scene? What involved? Toys, role playing, scene negotiation… for GBT men who are curious about or already into BDSM… Come watch a live BDSM scene! A great place to meet men.
Leather***K is for men who are into or are curious about leather/SM.

Great Sex 2: Intimacy and Mr. Right
Wednesday, July 17, 2002
Location: Stop AIDS Main Office
Event starts at 7:00pm

Get ready for some fun interactive intimacy games to help you keep sex safe and hot! Then, share your techniques for finding Mr. Right in this man-eat-man world.

Great Sex 3: Flirt, Date, Score
Wednesday, July 24, 2002
Location: Stop AIDS Main Office
Event starts at 7:00pm

Do your cruising skills need fine-tuning? This workshop is just for you! Come share pick-up strategies, negotiate safe sex and talk about what you are looking for in a date.

Great Sex 4: Different Strokes
Wednesday, July 31, 2002
Location: Stop AIDS Main Office
Event starts at 7:00pm

Whether we’re choking the chicken or just beating the meat, how do we pleasure ourselves and our partners? Join this exploration of the joys of JO — the safest sex known to man!

Sex Toys for Leather Boys
Thursday, August 8, 2002
Location: EROS - 2501 Market
Event starts at 7:00pm

Join other b*** boys as they show off their favorite toys and share their experiences with sexual play that doesn’t involve f******. Safe sex can be exciting and fun; find out how!

Typical Mail
Thursday, August 8, 2002
Location: Q Crib
Event starts at 8:00pm

Does hooking up online always lead you to sex? Chat rooms can lead to just what you’re looking for; fun conversations & new playmates or syphilis & gonorrhea? Come discuss the benefits & risks of chat-room connections & talk with other guys about how to make the typical male search safer.

Top, Bottom, Versatile
Tuesday, August 20, 2002
Location: Stop AIDS Main Office
Event starts at 7:00pm

Whether you like taking it, giving it or both, this workshop is for you! F****** is central to many of our identities as gay men. Can it be safe and hot? From foreplay to orgasm, join this honest look at what makes f****** so damn hot, and explore ways of making it safe to boot(y).

A Walk on the Wild Side
Tuesday, August 27, 2002
Location: EROS - 2501 Market
Event starts at 7:00pm

Into bareback sex? Curious? (What exactly does “bareback” mean?) Truth: more and more guys are f****** without condoms. Find out when guys do it and when they don’t. Talk about how your desires and needs make condom use a complicated decision. Here’s a chance to discuss and explore the facts, feelings and decisions you make in a non-judgmental and supportive environment.

Booty Call
7:00 pm at:
STOP AIDS PROJECT
2128 15th St @ Sanchez & Market
San Francisco
August 21, 2001

Dildos, plugs, f******* and r******. After a little basic science, share tales of intercourse and orgasm. Find out why so many of us find a** play such a major turn-on!

Great Sex Workshop
1:30 pm at:
STOP AIDS PROJECT
2128 15th St @ Sanchez & Market
San Francisco
August 25, 2001

Learn how to make the sex you have more erotic during this hands-on, clothes-on exploration of intimacy and fantasy.

Givin H***
7:00 pm at:
STOP AIDS PROJECT
2128 15th St @ Sanchez & Market
San Francisco
August 23, 2001

Takin’ his hot load… how safe is it? Spit? S******? What about p***** and other STDs? Learn the risks and share trade secrets.

GUYWATCH: Blow by Blow
7:00 pm at:
Q Crib
539 Castro, b/w 18th & 19th St.
San Francisco
February 28, 2002

How many licks does it take to get to the center of a d*** so it’ll pop? What tricks do you want to share to make your man tremble with delight? Tonight we take it to the head as we chat about safe, hot BJs.

This is a Q Action event for guys 25 & under of all colors and flavors who dig other guys.

More About Dick
7:00 PM at:
EROS Sex Club
2051 Market St.
SF, CA

Due to the popularity of last fall’s All About D***, here’s another opportunity to explore what turns bio c**** on. From hand jobs to blow jobs, join this “hands on” exploration with live models. Share your experiences and learn more tips on how to get a guy off while keeping it safe.

Series kick-off: Sex in the Streets
January 30, 2001
Eros Sex Club
2051 Market Street, at Church Street
7 pm to 9 pm

The club quickie, the bookstore booth rendezvous, or the after-dark park and push-in-the-bush… anonymous sex in San Francisco… where to play and how to play safely.