Gay News from London

Drug-resistant HIV strain alarms New York health officials

New York City Health officials are alarmed after a man infected with a highly drug-resistant strain of HIV progressed to full-blown AIDS within months of diagnosis. "This case is a striking reminder that the risk of getting infected with HIV has not gone away," said Dr. Jay Dobkin, director of the AIDS program at Columbia University. "In fact, risky behavior may be even more dangerous now since there is a change of infection with a virus we may not be able to treat." The department has issued an alert to doctors and hospitals to check other newly diagnosed HIV cases to see if they are also infected with the drug-resistant variant. The 40-something-year-old patient reported having multiple male sex partners and unsafe anal sex, often while using crystal meth. His HIV strain proved resistant to three of the four available types of antiviral medications. Meanwhile, Bush's 2006 budget submitted to Congress calls for cutting funds for federal AIDS prevention and surveillance programs by $4 million while throwing a $38 million increase to sexual abstinence until marriage education efforts.[Date: 14-Feb-05 ]