Four gay men in the Seattle area have tested positive for a strain of HIV that is extremely hard to treat, and health officials are concerned it could spread further.

At least two types of HIV drugs don't work against the strain, and another type has limited effectiveness, officials from Public Health — Seattle & King County told the Seattle Times.

"It's conceivable there can be more infections, and the gay community is at highest risk," said Dr. Bob Wood, the HIV/AIDS program director for Public Health, reports the Times.

The Seattle Post Intelligencer reports that Wood is most concerned that the virus identified in the four men is a similarly resistant genetic strain despite the fact that none of them reportedly had any contact with one another. All are gay men who used crystal methamphetamine and had many sexual partners, he said.

"This is mostly about behavior," said Wood, who is gay and has medically managed his own HIV infection for more than 20 years, the Post Intelligencer reports. "Men who have sex with men need to know that drug-resistant strains can and are being transmitted and may be much less treatable."

The four known cases were found over the course of more than a year. These were the only such cases reported in the state.

According to the Times, public-health officials have found some of the patients' partners, and so far none has the resistant strain. But many others have not been found because the men had anonymous sexual encounters, Wood said.

No one yet knows how easily this particular strain may be transmitted to others. There is no evidence it was spread to Seattle from another city.

Still, Wood said the cases should serve as an early warning because "they show there is some ongoing transmission."

"We're very concerned about gay men becoming more complacent and not using condoms," said Wood to the Times. Studies in Seattle and other cities have verified that gay men in recent years have been engaging in more unsafe sex.

Until next time!