A surge in “chemsex” parties, where some people spend days getting high on drugs and having sex with scores of partners, is refuelling epidemics of HIV among gay men in European towns and cities, doctors say.

Despite much higher risks of contracting the virus that causes AIDS, as well as other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), users search online “hook-up” apps like Grindr for tags such as “high and horny” or “party and play” to find others wanting drug-heightened and often anonymous and unprotected sex.

The result, AIDS experts say, is that in cities across Europe, HIV is spreading rapidly among men who have sex with men – leading to concentrated epidemics in hard-to-reach groups.

“Chemsex is very pervasive now – it’s a growing phenomenon,” said Rusi Jaspal, a professor of psychology and sexual health at De Montfort University in Leicester who has been studying the spread of HIV and the chemsex scene.

At a London conference hosted by the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care (IAPAC), the group’s president Jose Zuniga, described chemsex as a “challenge of proportions we cannot fully comprehend at this time”. Read more via Reuters