New HIV infections down among Minnesota gay men

Although the overall rate of new HIV infections in Minnesota rose 6% in 2002, new cases among gay and bisexual men dropped 7% last year, according to data from the state Department of Health released Tuesday, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. New infections dropped from 130 in 2001 to 121 in 2002. But health officials worry that a 2002 syphilis outbreak among men who have sex with men may foreshadow a future increase in HIV infections, because unsafe sex among gay and bisexual men appears to be on the rise. The rising HIV infection rate in Minnesota is largely attributed to increases among African immigrants in the state. Although African immigrants account for less than 1% of the state's population, they represented 20% of Minnesota's new HIV infections in 2002. More than half of the state's new HIV infections also were reported among women.