Number of HIV-positive gay men in Norway doubles

The annual number of new HIV cases among gay and bisexual men in Norway has more than doubled over the past two years, Agence France-Presse reports. Oeivind Nilsen, a counselor with the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, says that after a decade of recording about 30 new HIV cases among gay men, the number jumped to 57 new cases in 2003 and preliminary data shows as many as 60 to 70 new cases in 2004. "The reasons for the increase in HIV are many, but one of the most worrying reasons is that gays expose themselves to a risk of infection by having unsafe sex," says Nilsen.