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Safe Sex a Concern Because Sores Harbor HIV Danger Prison Considered a Breeding Ground for Transmission |
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Compiled By GayToday
The outbreak is particularly troublesome because during 1999 the 120 syphilis cases recorded were all through heterosexual transmissions. Of the 51 men diagnosed, twenty-eight were already infected with the Twenty-eight of the 51 infected people also have the human immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS. Syphilis sores are considered particularly dangerous in the transmission of the virus. Three of the more than 300 inmates who self-identified as gay said they'd recently had sexual relations with a great variety of partners.
Michael Weinstein, president of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation said: ""With the cases doubling in the last two weeks, that's pretty much proof positive there are hundreds of cases in the county. Now the task is to keep it from becoming thousands of cases." Other urban areas have also seen a rise, though Los Angeles leads the nation. Seven men who met in a San Francisco Internet chat room last summer were infected. Twelve cases have been reported there since the beginning of the year. Philadelphia and Seattle also report an increase of cases. Dr. Jeffrey D. Klauser, who has followed the progress of the disease in San Francisco and Seattle says: "It may be only a matter of time before syphilis becomes endemic in these communities,". "That would mean the prospects for syphilis elimination would be over." The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has looked forward to the eradication of syphilis since cases reported reached their lowest levels in 1998. Testing centers in the affected areas can be reached at 1-800-758-0880. |
Los Angeles, California—In the past two weeks, an outbreak of syphilis among
gay males has doubled here, according to the Los Angeles Times. Fifty-one males,
including five discovered in the city's jails, signal, officials fear, a rise in unprotected sexual
behavior.
