SIMON WATNEY, 65, LIVING WITH HIV SINCE 1997
RECENT STATISTICS PUBLISHED by Public Health England in June reveal an alarming upsurge in sexually transmitted infections amongst gay and bisexual men, often euphemistically described as “men having sex with men” (MSM). Although the overall total of STI diagnoses decreased by 0·3% in England from 2013 to 2014, the report explains that “diagnoses in MSM rose sharply, with syphilis increasing by 46%, gonorrhoea by 32%, chlamydia by 26%, and genital herpes and warts by 10% each. Gonorrhoea was the most commonly diagnosed. Acute bacterial STI transmission in HIV-positive MSM was about fourtimes higher than that of HIV-negative or undiagnosed men in 2013, showing that rapid STI transmission in dense sexual networks of HIV-positive MSM is occurring”.