In spite of its reputation for having launched some of the country's most progressive AIDS prevention campaigns, San Francisco's new HIV infection rates have tripled over the
past two years, according to the department of public health. Health officials there say that powerful AIDS drugs are making people complacent and that safe-sex messages are no
longer packing the punch they once did. AIDS is no longer seen as a death sentence, but a highly manageable disease.
The study tracked the rate of infection in the past three years. In 1997, 1.3% of all gay and bisexual men who were anonymously tested at San Francisco clinics were diagnosed
as HIV-positive. That jumped to 2.6% in 1998 and 3.7% last year.
Researchers were tipped to the sharp increase in HIV infection trends when they took note of disturbing warning signs. For instance, the proportion of gay men reporting that
they always use a condom fell to 54% last year from 70% in 1994.
Nationally, about 40,000 new HIV infections are reported each year, with gays and bisexuals accounting for 40% of that figure.
(San Francisco Department of Public Health, 415/554-2507)