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from Medical Issues
Los Angeles County Launches
Major Campaign Against STDs
June 26, 2007 - The Los Angeles Department of Public Health has launched a major campaign to reverse increases in syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia.
The education campaign urges "young, sexually-active African American women and Latinas, gay and bi-sexual men to get tested for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) every six months."
According to Jonathan E. Fielding, M.D., MPH, the public health director, there were 18,000 cases of chlamydia and gonorrhea among African American and Latina women younger than 25. Gay and bi-sexual men represented 1,000 cases of syphilis in 2006.
The Public Health Department says that gay and bi-sexual men face a serious problem with syphilis. In 2005, for example, 85% of the recorded syphilis cases involved these two populations. Six out of 10 of those cases involved HIV-positive males. Untreated syphilis can impair the ability to walk, bring about permanent vision and hearing loss, and brain damage.
The "Check Yourself" portion of the public health campaign targets gay and bi-sexual males.
Additional Reading: Medical Issues.
Updated: 8 February 2008
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