Monday, July 13, 2009

"A large percentage" of U.S. and Mexican men who regularly engage in sexual activity with sex workers in Tijuana, Mexico, do not use condoms and have a history of substance and alcohol use, according to a study published in the online journal AIDS, the Los Angeles Times' blog "L.A. Now" reports.  The study, by researchers from Mexico and the University of California-San Diego, surveyed 400 men – both Mexico and U.S. residents – and found that half of the men had unprotected sex with a female sex worker within the last four months. Researchers noted that although Tijuana authorities require that sex workers be registered and tested regularly for HIV, "only about half of [sex workers] have registered or been tested," according to the blog. Thomas Patterson of the UC-San Diego's department of psychiatry and the Veterans Affairs health center, said the findings indicate a need for an educational campaign targeting men who frequent sex workers (Perry, 7/11).