The Gay Lifestyle: As dangerous as ever

In San Francisco, Doctors have uncovered a rare STD that is being transmitted throughout the gay community. This report has surfaced during the much heated debate about gay marriage and the argument that the homosexual lifestyle is no more dangerous than the lifestyle of heterosexuals. The National media has chosen to keep this story below the radar but the report has made its way across California by word of mouth and caution.

apparently this strain of chlamydia, known as lymphogranuloma venereum, or LGV was reported in the Netherlands and now has turned up in the United States, according to a report in the San Francisco Chronicle dated 12/21/2004.

The report goes on to state,

"In November, doctors at San Francisco's City Clinic treated one man with the disease, and subsequent tests of stored specimens spotted three other cases that occurred this summer but had gone undetected by conventional screens.
None of the four patients who were found to have the bug in San Francisco had visited the Netherlands, an indication there may be other cases yet to be discovered in the city, said Dr. Sam Mitchell, a Department of Public Health epidemiologist."

"We think doctors should err on the side of caution,'' Says Mitchell. "The idea is to knock it out quickly. If it circulates widely, it could be quite challenging,''

Though this strain of chlamydia is treatable, it does require three weeks of treatment compared to a single dose of antibiotic that's required to treat the common strains of chlamydia.

Mitchell said there is no indication that HIV-positive patients are at higher risk for complications of LGV, but there is concern that a patient with the chlamydia infection might be more prone to contract HIV because of the ulceration caused by the bacteria.

So as individual states continue to debate the legality of gay marriage, the gay community is still trying to remove any impressions that their lifestyle is any different from heterosexuals. This report does not help their cause. The gay community wants to leave the average voter with the understanding that their relationship is that of two loving persons no different than that of a relationship between a man and a woman. However, this STD has been reported to only exist in the gay community and any real reporting has been undercut by political and personal agendas keeping this information from getting to the reading and voting public.

City epidemiologists found the three additional cases by screening samples taken from more than 100 patients treated for rectal chlamydia in the past year.

Source:

S Russell. Health officials issue alert about rare sexually transmitted disease. San Francisco Chronicle. December 21, 2004.

and,

http://www.hivandhepatitis.com/health/2005/010305_a.html

AZ