Two recent studies have shown that the ‘U=U’ message is being received more widely, but HIV negative men who have sex with men (MSM) are still less likely to believe that HIV positive people on medication cannot transmit the virus.

The message that ‘Undetectable means Untransmittable’ is being understood by people who are living with HIV. People who are on medication with an undetectable viral load have no ability to transmit the virus on to their sexual partners.

Combined with PrEP treatment that provides protection to HIV negative people, it has lead to a rapid decline in the number of new cases of HIV in countries where treatment is accessible.

Spreading the message of the current state of play in HIV is a difficult task though, for decades health campaigns that shared messages of fear have reverberated, making it challenging for fresh and update information to be accepted.

Two recent studies have given an indication of how well the U=U message is being spread. One large sample study showed that a large majority of HIV positive men understood and accepted the U=U message. But only 50% of those who were HIV negative, or didn’t know their HIV status, thought the information was accurate.

This research was carried out by Dr Jonathon Rendina and colleagues at City University of New York and published in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes.

Another recent study, conducted by Dr Steven Meanly and colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania was published in the November issue of Sexually Transmitted Diseases.

This US study showed that 70% of the young HIV-negative (or unaware of their status) MSM sampled in the US Mid-Atlantic region were aware of the U=U message. However, just over a third rated the statement as completely accurate.

Both studies collected web-based survey data from men recruited from social media sites and hook-up apps such as Grindr.

Read more about the studies at NAM: AIDS Map 

OIP Staff