Meningitis outbreaks among gay men have experts puzzled

latimes.com ^ | July 30, 2016 | Soumya Karlamangla

[PROCON]

AS cases of meningitis, a rare and potentially fatal disease, popped up in cities nationwide over the past several years, public health officials noticed a trend: many of those infected were gay men.

There’s no known medical reason why meningitis, which is transmitted through saliva, would spread more among gay and bisexual men. Yet New York, Chicago and now Southern California have experienced outbreaks disproportionately affecting that population.

“It is perplexing,” said Dr. Rachel Civen, a medical epidemiologist at L.A. County’s Department of Public Health.

Of the 13 cases of meningitis this year in L.A. County — excluding Long Beach, which has its own health department — seven were gay men. There were only 12 meningitis cases in the county in all of 2015, one of which was a gay or bisexual man.

[Falconspeed]

True. The gay and lesbian communities have a set of diseases that do not exist outside the community. Plus, they get harassed by demons regularly. It is not an optimal life choice.

[Chickensoup]

Civen said. The bacteria Neisseria meningitidis that leads to meningitis is known to colonize the throat and mouth, but researchers will investigate whether it can also colonize other parts of the body, such as the genitals or anus.

_____________

Not to put too fine a point on it, but oral sex forms are well known in the homosexual community.

[Chickensoup]

I am sorry about your loss.

Homosexual men have higher death rates than general population even when HIV is taken out of the stats. The sexual practices associated with them lead to an entire grouping of illnesses like bowel syndromes, anal cancers, and other immune and bacteriological syndromes.

[cherry]

"Meningitis outbreaks among gay men have experts puzzled:

I'm very puzzled too....just puzzled.....

[TChad]

The CDC chart below is from this Daily Mail article: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3322590/STD-epidemic-sweeping-cases-chlamydia-reaching-record-levels-gonorrhea-syphilis-rise.html

It shows cases of syphilis.

Remember when looking at the chart that only a small percentage, perhaps 2.5%, of males are homosexual.

"The CDC said gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, are at greatest risk of contracting syphilis. The graph reveals how, since 2007, while the rates of syphilis among women and men who have sex with women, have remained relatively low, rates for men who have sex with men, the red line, have soared."

Also see: http://www.cdc.gov/nchhstp/newsroom/docs/factsheets/std-trends-508.pdf

[cherry]

I have gay men relatives....the young one has always been different in many ways....the older one very OCD and goes for older men...

I do not know why they do what they do...I really don't...

the younger one seems to be lonely...no steady partner....the older one just seems to be "needed"...

[cherry]

the anal area is ripe with blood vessels...it was made for the occasional bm....it was not made for constant barrage of other men’s penises....its truly a setup for disease...

[Springman]

Bump for later.

[The Continental Op]

Stop putting stuff in your butt.

See, not one day in Med school for me.
_______

Yep, pretty simple really.

[TChad]

Bump for later.

I think that is the least politically correct chart I have ever seen. The percentage of homosexuals with STDs must be staggering.

Predictably, even though the chart was created by the CDC, it was not reproduced in the mainstream American press. Once again we have to rely on the Brits to tell us what is happening in America.

[Yaelle]

The 90s called. They want their studies on the promiscuity of gay men back.

[dr_lew]

My younger brother, b. 1954, died in 1995 in the “first wave” of AIDS. He was a budding concert pianist, and my mother’s favorite, so that was especially hard on her. The main thing I remember about it was driving into Manhattan with my parents to and from Belleview in the insane inch by inch crosstown traffic ... other than my last words with my brother, of course, which to be honest, weren’t many.

[firebrand]

Two reactions:

1. Only one person in the group was HIV-positive, so those posts blaming that are probably inaccurate.

2. Did anyone question the men about whether they engaged in kissing? That’s not mentioned at all in the article and seems pertinent. Many people have sex without kissing and “saliva” seems to be key, so kissing may be the factor they are looking for.

[hattend]

There’s no known medical reason why meningitis, which is transmitted through saliva, would spread more among gay and bisexual men.

Really? NO known medical reason? Give me a break.

[ROCKLOBSTER]

I just tolerate the aberrations of the human condition that I have no right or ability to control.

You have every right and duty to oppose this murderous assault on our kids, and on American Culture.

They need to be stigma'd right back into the mental hospitals where they belong.

[ROCKLOBSTER]

I have gay men relatives

I did.

Died around 30.

[Tax-chick]

Get the Menactra vaccine. Problem solved.

[Tax-chick]

Miss Marmelstein, for those of us who live sheltered lives in bland suburbs, your experience of the World Out There is extremely enlightening.

[miss marmelstein]

I think one of the reasons we come here is to share our experiences and how it has made us who we are and how we relate to politics based on those experiences. I’ve learned so much about guns, Texas, the rural way of life, the South, cooking, etc., so it seems right that we urbanites should share our experiences. It’s what makes FR so great.

[Tax-chick]

I agree. The most interesting thing is to “meet” people whose experiences have been very different from mine.