Objective: This exploratory study identified associations between the number of sexual partners reported by men who have sex with men (MSM) and the structure and composition of their social networks. Methods: A cross sectional survey was conducted of men recruited as key informants, through advertising and chain referral. A face to face interview was conducted with 206 MSM. The interview included information on the number of sexual partners in the previous year and sociodemographic and behavioural characteristics of the participant. Social networks were enumerated and network size and density were calculated. Ordered logistic regression was used to assess the associations between number of sexual partners and personal and network characteristics. Results: The number of anal sex partners reported was higher if the participant had injected drugs in the past year rather than never having injected (odds ratio, 95% confidence interval: 3.23, 1.28 to 8.15), decreased with network density (0.014, 0.002 to 0.008) and increased if the network did not comprise only HIV negative people (1.77, 1.05 to 2.99). The number of additional oral sex partners increased with network size (1.06, 1.02 to 1.10) and decreased with increased network density (0.034, 0.006 to 0.205). In addition to similar effects of network size (1.05, 1.01 to 1.09) and network density (0.086, 0.013 to 0.563) the model for the number of additional manual sex partners also included age (1.03, 1.01 to 1.05). Conclusion:The density of the social networks of MSM appears strongly and consistently associated with patterns of sexual behaviour. This underlines the importance of using network approaches to understanding the sexual behaviour of MSM and their potential value in identifying novel strategies for intervention.T he composition and structure of the social networks of injecting drug users (IDU) have been found in a number of studies to be implicated in the sexual and drug use risk behaviours of IDU.1 2 To date, the social networks of MSM have been the subject of little research. One study found that having network members who were diagnosed with AIDS was associated with lower rates of unsafe sex.3 Beyond that finding, it is not known whether the composition and structure of the social networks of MSM are associated with sexual behaviour. The purpose of the present report is to explore associations between the number of sexual partners MSM report and the structure and composition of their social networks. METHODS Study sampleDuring 2002 we recruited 206 homosexual and bisexual men. Five were key informants (2.4%), 77 were recruited through chain referral (37.4%), and 124 (60.2%) through advertising in the gay press in Melbourne, Australia. Data collectionThe men completed an interviewer administered survey which took 60-90 minutes. MeasuresThe interview included information on the men's county of birth, education, employment status, income, HIV status, and sexual history. The number of sexual partners in the previous year was assessed as the number of men ...

This paper reports on an ethnographic exploration of gay men who inject drugs in Melbourne, Australia's second largest city, and demonstrates a further diversification of gay men's lives, characterized previously as living in a "post AIDS" era (Dowsett 1996a). It suggests that gay community plays a crucial part in some men's accounts of drug use and shapes their experience of drug injection. Injection remains an abject act, which the gay community is reticent to discuss, with consequences for gay men's health, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C, sex, and gay community. The reticence positions drug taking (particularly drug injection) as an individual issue and as a violation of practices of self care that results both from gay men's culture of drug use and from the experience of otherness reported by gay injectors. This paper explores emerging paradoxes for gay men in relation to sex, drugs, relationality, sociality, community, and health.

Surveillance for gastroenteritis rarely detects small, intra-familial outbreaks. This study examined intra-household transmission of gastroenteritis using prospectively collected data from 2811 participants (600 households) in a community-based study. There were 258 household clusters of gastroenteritis during the 15 months of observation involving 774 residents (28% of total). Age <6 years and attendance at a day care/kindergarten were associated with increased likelihood of inclusion in a cluster. The reach of illness into the household was extensive, with 63% of household members affected by symptoms during clusters. Simultaneous and secondary transmission of gastroenteritis appeared equally common. In only 20% of clusters did more than one member submit a faecal specimen. Of clusters where two or more specimens were submitted, concordance in laboratory confirmation of pathogens was 18.8%. Our results show that clustering of gastrointestinal symptoms within households occurs commonly, but reliance on pathogen notification data will substantially underestimate the true frequency of gastroenteritis clusters.

This study documents gay men's communication patterns about unprotected sex. Gay men (n = 206) completed a structured interview about their social networks. The 167 men who had had unprotected sex identified 1390 social relations; 32.6% had involved discussing an episode of unprotected sex. Discussions about unprotected sex were associated with the nature of the relationship, whether the other party was gay or lesbian, how often the parties spent time together, whether the relationship had been sexual, and the density of the other parties' social network. Social networks provide an important context for the maintenance of safe sex cultures.

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