Eurosurveillance - Volume 7, Issue 2, 01 February 2002

The articles published in this issue of Eurosurveillance on recent trends of preventive behaviours in homosexual men in Spain, Switzerland, and the Netherlands, all conclude that the practice of safer sex is declining. They emphasise increases in anal penetration (regardless of the nature of the relationship), non-protected anal intercourse, and ejaculation in the mouth, in particular among casual partners. The increase of diagnoses of acute sexually transmitted diseases (such as gonorrhoea and syphilis) in different European countries – illustrated in this issue by the data from the Netherlands – is the first tangible consequence of this decline.

Although the latest survey on prevention behaviours of men having sex with men (MSMs) in Switzerland shows a decreasing number of HIV cases since 1992, a decrease in the protection level has also been observed. This could lead to a higher rate of HIV notifications in 2001 compared to 2000.

The worrying increase of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in Amsterdam was investigated in two studies carried out by the department of AIDS research of the municipal health service. The results indicate that the introduction of Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapies (HAART) may have had an influence on the increase of STDs and risky sexual behaviours in Amsterdam.

Recently, different studies among men who have sex with men (MSMs) have reported an increase in HIV incidence and sexually transmitted infections, and an increase in sexual risk behaviour. But the optimism regarding anti-retroviral treatments may lead to a greater relaxation in protective measures in the near future.