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Rare, Hard-To-Diagnose Sex Disease Sparks Fears
The Indy Channel ^ | February 7, 2006 | AP

Posted on 02/07/2006 10:12:12 AM PST by Abathar

WASHINGTON -- 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. Diagnoses confirmed by U.S. health officials still are low, just 27 since they warned a year ago that the strain was headed here.

But specialists say that's undoubtedly a fraction of the infections, because this illness is incredibly hard to diagnose: Few U.S. clinics and laboratories can test for it. Painful symptoms can be mistaken for other illnesses, such as irritable bowel syndrome.

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.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention already was counting an 8 percent increase in HIV among gay and bisexual men between 2003 and 2004, before LGV's arrival was recognized.

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

Increasing the ability to test for LGV is "what's really critically important," she adds. "The prevalence of the disease is probably quite a bit higher than the reported cases indicate, either here or in Europe, but we don't yet know that."

Three weeks of the antibiotic doxycycline effectively treats LGV. But patients have to know they're at risk, and then find a test.

Chlamydia, caused by bacteria, is among the most common sexually transmitted diseases. As many as 3 million Americans a year may become infected with common strains, best known for causing infertility in women if left untreated.

This more virulent strain is called "lymphogranuloma venereum," or LGV. It's not a new form, but one rarely seen outside of Africa or Southeast Asia. So STD specialists were stunned in late 2004, when the Netherlands announced an outbreak that reached over 100 cases; last summer, one clinic there reported seeing one to two new patients a week. Cases also have surfaced in much of Western Europe and Britain. As with the U.S. cases, many also have HIV.

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.

LGV can infect both sexes, although new cases diagnosed so far are among men having sex with men.

Screening requires nucleic acid testing, a complex type of genetic testing not yet commercially available for rectal use. The CDC then uses even more sophisticated testing to confirm the diagnosis.

Because testing is difficult, no one knows how prevalent LGV truly is. In a surprise finding last fall, Dutch scientists tested some tissue samples stored in San Francisco since the 1980s, and found evidence that today's LGV strain had gone unrecognized at the time. So has it been simmering here all along, or is it on the rise?

Regardless of how that question turns out, LGV is one more sexually transmitted illness that plays a role in HIV.

Thus, the CDC is encouraging doctors who spot LGV symptoms to contact their local health department for help in finding a nearby testing lab, or in shipping samples to CDC for testing there.

"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.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: brokebackdisease; dontputthatthere; homosexualagenda; shesgotthejack
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To: Abathar

More reasons to feel good about both marriage and celibacy


21 posted on 02/07/2006 10:26:13 AM PST by Mount Athos
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To: Millee

I knew you did not have to worry. I just thought you would like to laugh at the replies.....


22 posted on 02/07/2006 10:27:46 AM PST by Jersey Republican Biker Chick (Cleverly disguised as a responsible adult.)
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To: trubluolyguy

Lookin' for love in all the wrong places...


23 posted on 02/07/2006 10:27:55 AM PST by metesky ("Brethren, leave us go amongst them." Rev. Capt. Samuel Johnston Clayton - Ward Bond- The Searchers)
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To: All

"A particularly bad strain of chlamydia not usually seen in this country appears to be slowly spreading among gay and bisexual men"

Whew! Stopped reading there.


24 posted on 02/07/2006 10:28:45 AM PST by CygnusXI (Where's that dang Meteor already?)
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To: Mount Athos
The first cases began here.


25 posted on 02/07/2006 10:29:38 AM PST by USS Alaska (Nuke the terrorist savages - In Honor of Standing Wolf)
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To: Abathar
Here is some good advice (to everyone):

1 Corinthians 6

18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.

19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;

20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

26 posted on 02/07/2006 10:29:51 AM PST by A. Patriot
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To: Abathar

I think a prescription for Noasholatol will prevent this and many other STD's.


27 posted on 02/07/2006 10:29:52 AM PST by IamConservative (Who does not trust a man of principle? A man who has none.)
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To: Jersey Republican Biker Chick
Oh I have been! These threads always bring out the comedian's!
28 posted on 02/07/2006 10:30:42 AM PST by Millee (I've got FRiends in low places..)
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To: USS Alaska

I just noticed that bj closes his eyes when kissing.


29 posted on 02/07/2006 10:30:51 AM PST by USS Alaska (Nuke the terrorist savages - In Honor of Standing Wolf)
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To: MineralMan

we can spend billions and even trillions curing one STD, only to have another one pop up. can't stop mother nature.


30 posted on 02/07/2006 10:31:26 AM PST by iPod Shuffle
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To: IamConservative
I was thinking of about 4 tablespoons of Saltpeter daily, that would definitely slow the "spread" some.
31 posted on 02/07/2006 10:32:10 AM PST by Abathar (Proudly catching hell for posting without reading since 2004)
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To: Abathar

You reap what you sow.


32 posted on 02/07/2006 10:32:26 AM PST by AbeKrieger (Islam is the virus that causes al-Qaeda.)
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To: USS Alaska
"I just noticed that bj closes his eyes when kissing."

Wouldn't you if you had to kiss Kerry or Hitlery?

33 posted on 02/07/2006 10:33:20 AM PST by Jersey Republican Biker Chick (Cleverly disguised as a responsible adult.)
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To: iPod Shuffle

"we can spend billions and even trillions curing one STD, only to have another one pop up. can't stop mother nature."

Yes, and I won't get any of them. It's easy. Just be in a monogamous relationship with your wife or husband. There are lots and lots of STDs out there. I've never had any of them, and never plan to have one.


34 posted on 02/07/2006 10:34:07 AM PST by MineralMan (godless atheist)
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To: USS Alaska

I always close my eyes when men kiss.Its a gag reflux thing.


35 posted on 02/07/2006 10:34:43 AM PST by xarmydog
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To: MineralMan
Sounds darned nasty. I'm glad I'll never get it.

Stay out of jail then. ;)

36 posted on 02/07/2006 10:35:58 AM PST by tioga (Where is spring???)
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To: Abathar
Called LGV chlamydia...

"Likely Gay Virus"

37 posted on 02/07/2006 10:36:08 AM PST by HolgerDansk ("Oh Bother", said Pooh, as he worked the bolt.)
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To: tioga

"Stay out of jail then. ;)"

Not to worry. I've never even had a traffic ticket. These days, I live a pretty calm, sedate life. No jail for me.


38 posted on 02/07/2006 10:37:08 AM PST by MineralMan (godless atheist)
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To: Jersey Republican Biker Chick

ewww ewwww ewwwww


39 posted on 02/07/2006 10:38:36 AM PST by null and void (If the Muslim world can be brought to its knees by 12 cartoons, let's give them a whole comic book!)
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To: Abathar
LGV is neither rare nor hard to diagnose.

Other than that, spot on!

40 posted on 02/07/2006 10:39:46 AM PST by Jim Noble (And you know what I'm talkin' 'bout!)
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