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from Medical Issues
CDC Issues Alert On New Disease Infecting Gays And Bisexuals In Europe
November 1, 2004 - The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issued an alert
to health officials on October 29 on a rare venereal disease (STD) spreading
through Europe among homosexual and bisexual males. The CDC believes it is just
a matter of time before the disease reaches the U.S.
The disease is Lymphogranuloma Venereum (LGV), a variety of the Chlamydia
trachomatis bacterium. According to the CDC, this STD rarely occurs in
industrialized nations but has appeared in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, and
Sweden.
LGV has increased dramatically in the Netherlands, which typically has less than
five cases a year. During the 17 months preceding September, 2004, the nation
had diagnosed 92 cases. Thirty of these cases occurred in 2003 and 62 during
2004.
Of the 62 patients diagnosed in 2004, all of the patients were white and among
the 30 whose HIV status was known, 23 (77%) were HIV positive. According to the
CDC, "Other preliminary findings suggested that concurrent sexually transmitted
infections were prevalent and that the majority had participated in casual sex
gatherings (e.g., 'leather scene' parties) and unprotected anal intercourse or
other unprotected anal penetration (e.g., fisting) during the 12 months before
onset of symptoms." The STD is associated with genital ulcers and various
gastrointestinal ailments.
The CDC also noted: "Estimates of the incidence and prevalence of LGV in the
United States are difficult to obtain; the disease is not nationally reportable,
and the diagnosis is not straightforward. The clinical presentation of LGV might
easily be missed, as evidenced by the large number of retrospective cases
identified in the Netherlands."
The complete CDC report is available in the October 29, 2004 issue of the MMWR:
Lymphogranuloma Venereum Among Men Who Have Sex with Men --- Netherlands,
2003--2004.
Updated: 8 February 2008
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