LGV: The VD of the Seventies

[ethics]

"LGV is a serious condition and its emergence in New York City reflects continuing high levels of unsafe sexual activity among men who have sex with men," Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden told a news conference.

"Unprotected anal intercourse, in particular, is extremely risky in terms of the spread of LGV as well as HIV," he added.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta has confirmed six recent cases in the United States, including three cases in San Francisco and one in Atlanta.

Among the cases identified thus far, most have also had HIV/AIDS infection, Frieden said.

The Netherlands has reported 92 cases of LGV dating back to 2003 and Belgium, France, Sweden and Britain have also reported infections.

I am sure we will also start hearing how "they, those homos, had it coming to them..." and all that crap.

The only positive here is, and unlike HIV,<a href="http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/nm/health_sexual_dc"> this can be cured</a>.

[ethics]

Addendum:

<a href="http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/337/19/1350">New Englanf Journal of Medicine</a> has a very interesting look at anal intercourse and anal cancer.

Results :Multivariate analysis revealed consistent and statistically significant associations between measures of sexual promiscuity and the risk of anal cancer in both men and women. There was a significant trend toward an association between higher numbers of partners of the opposite sex in women (P<0.001) and men (P<0.05) and strong associations with a variety of venereal diseases. In women, receptive anal intercourse, particularly before the age of 30 years, and venereal infections in the partner were also associated with an increased risk (odds ratios, 3.4 and 2.4, respectively). Fifteen percent of the men with anal cancer reported having had homosexual contact, as compared with none of the controls (P<0.001). High-risk types of HPV, notably HPV-16, were detected in 84 percent of the anal-cancer specimens examined, whereas all rectal-adenocarcinoma specimens tested were negative for HPV.

Conclusions :Our study provides strong evidence that a sexually transmitted infection causes anal cancer. The presence of high-risk types of HPV, notably HPV-16 (which is known to cause cancer of the cervix), in the majority of anal-cancer tissue specimens suggests that most anal cancers are potentially preventable. (N Engl J Med 1997;337;1350-8.)

I don't want this to be moved to Gin Joint so I will stay timid. For all of you who enjoy anal sex, consider the risk.