Bugchasing (or Bug chasing) is a term, invented in the 1990s, stemming out of a subculture of gay men wanting (Chasing) to become infected with HIV. Bug chasers "chase" the bug by seeking sexual partners who are HIV positive for the purpose of having unprotected sex and having the partner change their seroconversion status.

Bug chasing as activity

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Though the practice of bug chasing seems incredibly risky and, in a worst case scenario, tantamount to suicide, interviews with "chasers" have identified recurring motivations for participating in the activity. Among these motivations:

• Some find relief from "condom fatigue", and feel that they don't have to worry about getting infected or worrying about changes in their HIV status.
• Some believe that HIV is simply a chronic manageable disease, like diabetes, and that the new drugs promise them a long and healthy life. (Modern antiviral therapy is extremely expensive, can still have painful and unpleasant side-effects, and does not cure or ultimately stop the progression of the disease.)
• Some couples see infecting the other partner as the deepest level of intimacy.
• Some men report that the element of danger in sexual encounters of this kind (including the "Russian roulette" activity) adds to the "rush" of arousal.
• There are men who, once infected, feel like they finally "belong" to a "fraternity" of infected men.

More on [ Bugchasing ]

Blackwell Synergy: HIV Medicine: Table of Contents

Genotypic antiretroviral drug resistance testing at low viral loads in the UK
HIV Medicine, Volume 0, Issue 0, Page ???, OnlineEarly Articles. Background Antiretroviral drug resistance testing is recommended in HIV-1 infected patients failing therapy in order to inform treatment selection. Although guidelines and test manufacturers recommend a viral load of at least 500–1000 HIV-1 RNA copies/mL ...
Effect of gender and highly active antiretroviral therapy on HIV-related pulmonary arterial hypertension: results of the HIV–HEART Study
HIV Medicine, Volume 0, Issue 0, Page ???, OnlineEarly Articles. Background Idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a rare disease. HIV-infected patients exhibit a considerably higher rate of development of this condition compared to the general population. Methods This cross-sectional study of 802 (83.4% ...
RNA amplification of the HIV-1 Pol and env regions on dried serum and plasma spots
HIV Medicine, Volume 0, Issue 0, Page ???, OnlineEarly Articles. Background Dried sample spots have molecular applications, but few data are available on conditions of HIV-1 RNA amplification. Objectives To determine the impact of (i) the sample type (plasma or serum), (ii) various storage periods, (iii) transfer at ...

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