HIV/Aids is one of the most dangerous, distressing and debilitated conditions to affect the sexual health of men and women. It may seem like madness then, that some people are actually disregarding their wellness and wellbeing and going out of their way in an attempt to contract the disease.
This is a bizarre new craze known as ‘bug chasing’, which has taken hold in the US and, to a lesser extent, in the UK. Experts have warned that not only does this new craze mean that men are seeking out the virus, they are then also secretly spreading it around without informing sexual partners.
The men involved apparently get a thrill from risking catching the deadly disease. HIV/Aids attacks the body’s immune system, leaving it weak and unable to fight against diseases which most people easily recover from. It often causes death.
Online forums for the ‘bug chasing’ craze are spreading, with men meeting up on chat sites, twitter and Facebook. Some of these bug chasers claim that they are happier after contracting the virus, because the medications give them a better quality of life.
One such bug chaser is Nick, a 31 year old man from the Midlands. He claims that he feels healthier than ever since contracting the disease, and enjoys the regular testing. He claims to have had sex with over a thousand men in his quest to get the virus, all of which were unprotected encounters.
Now that he has the virus, however, he admits that it is a bit disappointing as it takes the fun out of attempting to contract it away.
Although the true reach of the craze is still unknown, some studies have claimed that as much as a quarter of all new HIV cases in the US could be attributed to the practice of bug chasing. No evidence has backed this up specifically, but a Facebook group for bug chasers currently boasts 1, 173 likers.