uncircumcised. The foreskin is vulnerable to HIV infection. This was demonstrated in three separate trials in Africa. Each of these studies enrolled uncircumcised men (that is, they had foreskin) and then circumcised half and left the other half uncircumcised. The trials were ended early as the men who were circumcised (that is, had their foreskin removed) had a 60% decrease in their risk of HIV infection. Importantly, all three trials enrolled only heterosexual men. Similar trials among men who have sex with men have not shown the same benefit although this is most likely because the majority of gay guys are not exclusive tops. Circumcision has no effect on your risk of HIV infection when you bottom.

50%. According to the latest statistics from 2014, 50% of HIV-positive individuals in Canada are men who have sex with men. Men who have sex with men remain at highest risk and are estimated to be 70 times more likely to become infected with HIV compared to straight men and 90 times more likely to become infected compared to women.

A medication taken every day to reduce the risk of becoming infected with HIV. Pre-exposure prophylaxis, or simply “PrEP”, is a drug taken once daily by guys who are HIV-negative that can significantly reduce the chances of becoming infected with HIV. PrEP is not meant to replace condoms. In fact, there are no studies comparing guys who bareback to guys who bareback while on PrEP. Thus, how effective PrEP is by itself in preventing HIV infection is not known. However, studies have shown that for guys who use condoms better than half the time and take PrEP every day, the risk of HIV infection is almost zero.

Truvada. Truvada is currently the only drug approved for use as HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis. Truvada contains two drugs (tenofovir disoproxil fumarate and emtricitabine) in one pill and is taken once daily.

To age 75. Life expectancy for HIV+ people living in Canada and on effective antiretroviral therapy is now essentially normal. Most HIV+ people will live into their early to mid 70’s, just shy of the national average life expectancy of 81 years. However, data from the NA-ACCORD now suggest that if you are an HIV+ gay guy and you are diagnosed early while your CD4 count is still high, you will likely live to age 89, longer than the average Canadian male. Researchers believe this is because HIV+ guys are connected to healthcare and may take better care of themselves.

False. While there is obviously a link between HIV and AIDS, since AIDS can develop as a result of HIV infection, these two things are not the same. HIV is a virus that infects immune cells. People can be infected with HIV and not have AIDS because they were recently infected or because they are on effective antiretroviral therapy to keep the virus inactive. If HIV is not controlled by antiretroviral medication, it will over time destroy the immune system making people susceptible to unusual infections, such as Pneumocystis, and rare cancers like Kaposi’s sarcoma. When this happens, people are said to have AIDS.

None of the above. PrEP offers significant protection against HIV but provides absolutely no protection against any other sexually transmitted infections such as gonorrhea, Chlamydia, herpes, syphilis or hepatitis C. If you choose to incorporate PrEP into your safer sex arsenal, you should combine it with other prevention methods like condoms to reduce your risk of acquiring other sexually transmitted infections.

16%. On average, it is estimated that 16% of gay and other men who have sex with men living in large Canadian cities have HIV. This varies by city. In Ottawa, 11-12% of gay guys are living with HIV while in Toronto about 23% of gay guys have HIV.

Staying the same. While the number of new HIV infections in other priority populations such as injection drug users has been slowly decreasing, the number of gay guys becoming infected each year in Canada has remained the same. Every year about 1400 gay and other men who have sex with men in Canada are infected with HIV.

All of the above. While people living with HIV who are on effective antiretroviral therapy live healthy, normal lives, they are at increased risk of developing a few other health conditions. Although the risk is still relatively low, the potential for developing heart disease is higher than for the general population. This may have something to do with the HIV virus, but the fact that many HIV+ people smoke cigarettes contributes greatly to the increased risk of heart attack. The risk of developing anal cancer is also higher due to the prevalence of the human papilloma virus. As for osteoporosis, it is unclear whether this has something to do with the virus or is related to the medications. In either case, the risk of bone fracture is still relatively low. All the same, if you are HIV+ it is important to see your doctor regularly and ensure your health is monitored.