A follow-up study of MSM discovered that self-reported behavioural information such as unsafe sex practices, having partners who practise unsafe sex and alcohol use were not predictive of the incidence of STIs, and even without confirmed association, the MSM in this study displayed similar behaviours.6 There might be other risk factors for STI acquisition in this understudied population in South Africa that we probably have not included such as the history of illicit drug use and the CD4 count related to the HIV status, both of which have been associated with a higher incidence of ASTIs. This evidence concerns the gene CD4 and sexually transmitted disease.