S.F. AIDS campaign shows downside of the disease

A new ad campaign aimed at gay and bisexual men in San Francisco aims to encourage safer sex and HIV prevention efforts by spotlighting the downside of HIV disease, including drug side effects and debilitating symptoms of HIV-related ailments, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The $37,500 campaign, which began Thursday, includes ads in bus shelters and public rest rooms around the city. One ad, titled "Crix Belly," shows a man with a distended abdomen, a side effect of the protease inhibitor Crixivan, next to the slogan "HIV is no picnic." Other ads show a man suffering from chronic diarrhea, another with facial wasting caused by lipodystrophy, and one suffering from night sweats. City health officials say the ads are designed to get gay and bisexual men talking about the consequences of HIV infection.