“Certainly my patients have shown concern that something is running through the [homosexual] community like wildfire.”For background, read New Gay Health Risk: Meningococcal Disease
-- Dr. Jay Gladstein, a Los Angeles internal medicine doctor who mostly treats gay and bisexual men
Click headlines below to read previous articles:
Federal Government Blames Homosexual Men for Sex Disease Epidemic
Another Sex Disease Untreatable: 'Super Gonorrhea'
Also read Failed Free-Sex Utopia Plagued by Rampant Disease
-- From "Meningitis outbreaks among gay men have experts puzzled" by Soumya Karlamangla, Los Angeles Times 7/30/16
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.
Gladstein, who is also an HIV specialist, said he thinks that the cases are likely among men who have multiple sexual partners, engage in anonymous sex and use drugs that make them more susceptible.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the New York City Department of Public Health launched a project to investigate the connection between gay men and meningitis. It’s possible that L.A. County will be included in the study as well, officials said.
The research may also consider whether meningitis can be transmitted in other ways, such as sexual routes that might be making gay men more susceptible, [medical epidemiologist at L.A. County’s Department of Public Health, Dr. Rachel] 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.
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From "Health experts unsure why gay, bisexual men at risk for meningitis" by Rebecca Plevin, KPCC-FM89.3 NPR (National Public Radio, Pasadena, CA) 7/7/16
Meningitis is spread through close contact with an infected person. People can contract it through kissing, coughing or sneezing, or sharing cigarettes or drugs. It also spreads among people in group settings – like dorms, jails or shelters.
Symptoms of meningitis usually occur within five days. They include high fever, stiff neck, skin rash, severe headache, low blood pressure, sensitivity to bright lights and generalized muscle pains. The infection can cause brain damage, hearing loss and death. It progresses quickly, so immediate diagnosis and treatment is imperative, health experts say.
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From "Long Beach Officials Increase Push for Meningitis Vaccinations in Light of Outbreak" by Keeley Smith, Long Beach Post 7/27/16
Los Angeles County and Orange County health officials urged all gay and bisexual men in the county to obtain vaccines today, regardless of their risk status, as the spread of meningitis has officially been labeled an outbreak by the state.
A spike in the number of new meningitis cases in May and June heightened the alarm among officials, hearkening back to the most recent outbreak of meningococcal disease, which occurred in 2014. However, the term "outbreak," as defined by the CDC, means the diagnosis of three or more cases over the course of three months, which is not necessarily a cause for panic, said The LGBTQ Center of Long Beach's Director of Health and Wellness Ismael Salamanca.
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Also read Gay Agenda Increases Suicides of Young Men: Study
