Internet blamed in spread of syphilis among gays

Yahoo ^ | March 11th, 2004 | Jon Hurdle

[missyme]

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - The Internet has played a significant role in the latest increase in cases of syphilis among gay men by introducing partners more likely to practice high-risk sex, according to a study released on Wednesday.

About 22 percent of homosexual men diagnosed with early stage syphilis reported meeting one or more of their sexual partners through the Internet around the time they were infected, said the study by the Los Angeles Health Department.

Researchers at a national conference in Philadelphia on the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases also said they found gays who used the Web to meet sex partners were almost four times as likely to have anonymous sex than non-Internet users. They were also more than twice as likely to use injected drugs as those who found partners more traditionally.

Of gay men who met their partners online, 67 percent were HIV positive, according to the study.

"The Internet is an important venue for conducting STD/HIV prevention and control," said Dr. Getahun Aynalem, an author of the Los Angeles Health Department study.

"Potential public health prevention and control efforts should include interventions like online outreach."

The Internet was one of a number of factors contributing to the rise in syphilis and other sexually transmitted diseases among gay men, Aynalem said. Other contributors included the increasing use of the recreational drug crystal methamphetamine and the erectile dysfunction medication Viagra.

Nationally, the incidence of reported syphilis has increased by 18 percent in the last three years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For male homosexuals it has multiplied 12-fold.

Between 1999 and 2003, the proportion of all U.S. syphilis cases among gay men jumped to 60 percent from 5 percent.

The Los Angeles research found that men who went online to find sex partners were more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior than those who found partners elsewhere. For example, of those who said they were the dominant partner in anal sex, 91 percent were Internet users compared with 80 percent who were non-browsers.

The Web can also help control the spread of STDs, researchers said. Online, partners can be notified of a person's sexual history and chat rooms where health counselors can discuss STD prevention and control can be set up.

[missyme]

AL Gore looks Gay.

[Intolerant in NJ]

"Potential public health prevention and control efforts should include interventions like online outreach."...These people don't have a clue - a documentary presented recently on the Sundance Channel called "The Gift" detailed how many gays now are actively seeking HIV infection. Filmed in San Francisco, it showed among other things the use of the internet to set up massive weekend parties attended by hundreds of gays who purposely participated in "barebacking" - sex with multiple partners without protection. In fact at most such parties it was forbidden to ask any partner if he was HIV positive; it was considered bad manners to even mention the possible use of a condom. Most of those involved were "bugchasers" - gays actively seeking to become infected. "The Gift" of course was to actually become infected and test HIV positive. At one point several gays involved in this circle try to think of one gay man over the age of forty whom they know in the San Francisco area who has not tested positive - and can't. And this was presented as a film sympathetic to gays......

[kenth]

The SyberSak
Disposable Keyboard Protection

[KC_Conspirator]

The Internet is there version of the local gay bar..I guess.

More like the public restroom at the city park.

[GeronL]

First off, don't call it a sak or sack. Somehow seems naughty. =o)

[Qwinn]

Blaming the internet for syphillis among gays is like blaming Ford Motor Company for drunk driving.

Qwinn

[longtermmemmory]

Its class action lawsuit time! ISP's should have warned homosexuals! There was no warning label!

Attorneys will line up and win valuble discount coupons for the homosexuals suffering from sex diseases.

[ppaul]

Peter Ilgenfritz and Dave Shull, pastors at
University Congregational Church in Seattle,
are among six couples that filed suit after
being denied a marriage license.

[<1/1,000,000th%]

Well someone posted an article yesterday that said your computer is dirtier than your toilet.

[MD_Willington_1976]

I thought it was because they didn't block their ports...and I dont mean the ones on the computer...

[Lawgvr1955]

The Internet has played a significant role in the latest increase in cases of syphilis among gay men

Maybe someone should tell them the cable is suppossed to be inserted into the computer.

[He Rides A White Horse]

Gays have STD's cause there meeting other Gays in person engaging in filth.

What a novel theory.............someone should tell the gay people right away. Oh wait, they already know.

[He Rides A White Horse]

Putting one's faith in leftist crypto-science sounds like a surefire way to get killed.

[reagan_fanatic]

Maybe this would have helped...

[Trillian]

I'm surprised it took them this long to say this. I said they were going to blame this on the internet 4 years ago when I got AOL. Thankfully, I don't have AOL anymore, since it's full of them. I refer to them as GAYOL now.

What they need to do is blame who's really responsible, filthy and perverse gay men acting like filthy and perverse gay men.

[Wil H]

It doesn't take too many brain cells to understand that unprotected sex opens you to many diseases. AIDS wouldn't spread if queers would use protection or abstain.

Actually, protection doesn't save them. Even if their partner uses protection the delicate wall of the anal passage can get torn by their activities and they then infect themselves with various diseases by means of their own fecal matter getting into the open wounds.

Sorry to be so explicit.

Great lifestyle, eh? No wonder they are so proud..

[Mackey]

True - my sister used to work in an emergency room and some young guy came in with a vibrator stuck there. She said they weren't able to turn it off till they got it out.

How do you keep a straight face? Just curious.

A curled upper lip should do it.