"I saw your billboard on Muni." Pause.
"Why the hesitation, was I tagged already?"
"Let's just say your facial hair's been enhanced and you're wearing a bow tie."
Friends couldn't wait to tell me the newest tags. "I'm easy," was the most popular, followed by "I killed Halloween" and even "I'm Bevan's Dad." Ouch.
These billboards promote an important and exciting effort, Prepare SF.
Prepare SF is part of a global two-year clinical trial for 3,000 HIV-negative gay and bisexual men to test whether Truvada can help prevent HIV infections.
The National Institutes of Health have funded these studies that began in Peru and Ecuador and are expanding to Boston and San Francisco and Thailand and Botswana.
Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a promising new path for HIV prevention that has already proven effective with malaria. PrEP refers to daily anti-HIV medication taken by HIV-negative individuals (started prior to exposure and continued throughout periods of risk). The tests will involve a group taking Truvada and a group who will be taking a placebo. Individuals will not know which group they are in, hence it is essential that all individuals receive prevention tools, such as risk reduction counseling, frequent HIV testing, and linkages to prevention services.
We do not know that Truvada can prevent infections and participants will not know if they are receiving a placebo. That said, based upon previous trials with other drugs, participation will likely reduce risk of infection.
In San Francisco we have seen the number of new HIV sero-conversions plateau at 900-1,000 over the past several years �" which means 15-20 new infections each week. Our toolbox needs varied prevention strategies in order to flip the script and change these trends and reduce new cases of HIV. Magnet is an excellent example of using a comprehensive approach to gay men's health as a means to bring new energy and effectiveness not only to prevention efforts but also to promoting the health and well being of all gay men.
This week the Department of Public Health and John Newsome organized an African American Summit on HIV-prevention focusing on gay black men and men who have sex with men. Our community knows that the African American community is disproportionately affected by new HIV infections. African Americans represent 13 percent of the U.S. population but 49 percent of new HIV/AIDS diagnoses in the U.S. in 2005. Certainly if Truvada proves effective it could help us change the course of this epidemic.
This month I turn 54. Over the past three decades I have lost many friends to HIV/AIDS. Some of the most important people in my life are thriving, despite HIV, and provide daily inspiration. They give me hope every day that HIV can be managed, with a strong support system, adequate housing, and access to quality health care, and that we can be here for a cure.
I am honored to be involved with the Prepare SF campaign and thank my friend and respected community leader, Frank Strona, for being on the earlier billboards. Please visit www.preparesf.org to learn more.
Bevan Dufty is a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and represents District 8, which includes the Castro.