Posted on 06/02/2005 4:35:40 PM PDT by scripter
In an eerily similar way to how HIV/AIDS was first spread, a heretofore rare sexually transmitted disease some are calling the "new AIDS" is making its way through the male homosexual community in Canada and the U.S.
According to a report in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, lymphogranuloma venereum, or LGV, has been identified in 22 homosexual and bisexual men in Canada in recent months, all of whom practice risky sexual behavior including anal sex without a condom, ingesting the drug crystal meth anally and "fisting."
Six cases have been identified in Boston, Mass., reports the Associated Press, while the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed LGV cases in San Francisco, Atlanta, and New York City in the last few months.
LGV is spread in similar ways as is HIV/AIDS among men who have anonymous sex in bathhouses and via near-anonymous encounters arranged through Internet chat groups, reports the Toronto Globe and Mail.
The medical report notes LGV is a bacterial infection and, unlike AIDS, is easily treatable with antibiotics. Symptoms include small painless lesions on the genitals and swollen glands.
Because LGV creates sores, carriers are more likely to spread HIV because bodily fluid is more likely to get into the bloodstream.
"This is an important public-health and clinical challenge," Thomas Wong, M.D., director of the community-acquired-infections division of the Public Health Agency of Canada said, according to the Globe and Mail.
Wong says the growth of LGV points to a "safer-sex fatigue," the popularity of party drugs that strip away inhibitions and the increasingly common practice of anonymous sex.
"LGV isn't the only sexually transmitted disease we're seeing. The number of cases of syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia are all increasing," Wong said.
A form of the STD chlamydia, LGV if left untreated, can cause swelling of the genitals and rectum, and can lead to meningitis, encephalitis and even death.
Though the disease is common in the tropics, it didn't appear in the industrialized world until 2003, when it infected a group of sex tourists in the Netherlands. LGV then spread to Belgium, France, Germany, Sweden, Britain, the United States and Canada.
One LGV patient at Boston's Fenway Community Health clinic said he probably acquired the disease while visiting Brazil.
The Canadian report noted none of the men infected with LGV in Canada had travelled abroad recently, but all had the same strain of the disease that is circulating in the Netherlands.
Those infected in Canada engaged in "Internet partnering," frequented bathhouses, or had sex at rave parties, the report stated.
''We hadn't seen an LGV case for years," Dr. Alfred DeMaria, Massachusetts director of communicable disease control, told AP. ''It's definitely a sign of unsafe sex, and that's a concern in terms of other sexually transmitted diseases and HIV. Now, I think we're at the point that people need to pay attention to it."
among men who have anonymous sex in bathhouses and via near-anonymous encounters arranged through Internet chat groups, reports the Toronto Globe and Mail.
So us hetero men are always pigs, and these are the ones that make such good friends?! What tha...?!
You just need a little more imagination.
Wait a minute. Meth in the 80's? Did you invent it.
Crystal methadrine has been around for years and years. It used to just be called speed, then was known as crank. It was a big hit among cross country truck drivers for a long time, as it keeps the user awake for long periods of time.
My area was one of the first to get hit with it, in 1983. By 1984 we were swimming in the stuff, and I started dealing it to support my habit.
On July 31, 1985, I was through with it.
That date's significance? Were you on the verge of anal and just couldn't cross the line or?
No matter if they deliver to the correct place or not.
It was the day I asked God for help and was delivered of drug abuse for good.
That was the last day I stuck a needle in my arm. I'll never forget it.
Congratulations though Skooz. Maybe I should have been a junkie, because you write very well for the lades.
I remember when my area got hit with Boone's Farm Strawberry Hill.
It took out many a good woman.
I don't recommend it. It took away much and gave back worse.
Be glad you never dealt with it. You're a better man for never having touched the stuff.
LOL!
Kountry Kwencher was my BF of choice.
I can honestly say that the absence of the phrase, "I used to use crank." in my life is a good thing.
Funny what we choose to admit 20 years later. I was one of the ones who was initiated into drinking by Bartles & Jaymes. I loved those two guys.
"And thanks for your support."
"No matter if they deliver to the correct place or not." Truck driving is a miserable job, and you really have to respect what they do, even when you get po'ed at them in traffic. As a gentleman of my acquaintance once told me, "If you got it, it came on a truck."
"I remember when my area got hit with Boone's Farm Strawberry Hill.
It took out many a good woman."
Hey, I resemble that remark.
Please don't get me wrong. I have respect for truck drivers. That respect dwindles a little though when finding out that some use crank when driving. Explains a lot for sure.
If you are a young lady, it is possible you fell victim to my fruity potion. If you are a man, well, I don't want to talk about it.
Back on topic, which is homos, etc.....
Ingesting crystal meth anally?
Easy. Makes the gerbils more active. Ba-dump!
or
Not bad with a little milk! (ad infinitem)
Nothing like a good meth fisting to get you started in the morning!
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