California Conservative

AP reports: “A particularly bad strain of chlamydia not usually seen in this country appears to be slowly spreading among gay and bisexual men, an infection that can increase their chances of getting or spreading the AIDS virus.”

Called LGV chlamydia, this sexually transmitted disease has caused a worrisome outbreak in Europe, where some countries have confirmed dozens of cases.
. . .

And because LGV chlamydia doesn’t always cause noticeable symptoms — right away, at least — an unknown number of people may silently harbor and spread it, along with an increased risk of
HIV transmission.

“My feeling is that what we’re seeing now is still the tip of the iceberg,” says Dr. Philippe Chiliade of the Whitman-Walker Clinic in Washington, D.C., which diagnosed its first few cases of LGV last month and is beginning to push for asymptomatic men to be screened.

“We are really concerned about this,” says Dr. Catherine McLean of CDC’s HIV and STD prevention program.
. . .

Symptoms differ from regular chlamydia: swollen lymph nodes in the groin; genital or rectal ulcers; and painful bowel movements and other gastrointestinal symptoms that may mimic inflammatory bowel disease. Such symptoms leave patients particularly susceptible to HIV infection if they also encounter that virus.
. . .

“But I don’t want people to think you have to have severe pain,” cautions Chiliade, whose clinic recently became authorized to offer the NAT rectal screening — and who recommends it for gay men who have had unprotected sex even if they feel no symptoms.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 7th, 2006 at 9:38 am and is filed under Health Care. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.