SYPHILIS - the new threat

Syphilis rise in gay, bisexual men causes worry

- Syphilis has risen sharply among gay and bisexual men in the United States this decade, driving up the country's rate for the disease and placing these men at higher risk for AIDS, federal health officials say. Since dropping to the lowest level on record in 2000, the U.S. rate of syphilis, a sexually transmitted bacterial disease, has risen steadily, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials said on Friday. The rate rose five years in a row through 2005, the most recent year for which the CDC had figures. Gay and bisexual men accounted for 7 percent of syphilis cases in 2000 but more than 60 percent in 2005, CDC experts estimated. "The most devastating consequence of this increase in syphilis cases would be an increase in the rates of HIV infection," said Dr. Khalil Ghanem of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. "Syphilis and HIV have a close, deadly symbiotic relationship." CDC epidemiologist Dr. James Heffelfinger said syphilis, like many other sexually transmitted diseases, raises the likelihood of infection by or transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus, which causes AIDS. Syphilis raises these risks by an estimated two to five times, he said. Condom use can greatly reduce the risk of getting syphilis, which is readily curable with antibiotics in its early stages but capable of causing severe medical problems and even death if left untreated. "We are seeing that syphilis is on the rise among a very specific subset of gay men: those who are having a great deal of sex with multiple sex partners," said Joel Ginsberg, executive director of the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association in San Francisco. Many are HIV-infected or test positive for HIV for the first time when they learn they have syphilis, he said. 'WHY BOTHER?' "Among these men, there seems to be decreased condom use, perhaps related to an attitude of 'I already have HIV, so why bother?' or because HIV is seen as a chronic disease that can be managed well with medications," Ginsberg said. Tremendous progress was made against syphilis in the 1990s. In 1999, the CDC announced an initiative to fully eliminate it from the United States. After reaching 50,000 cases and a rate of 20.3 cases per 100,000 people in 1990 -- the highest since 1949 -- public health efforts helped drive down the rate to 2.1 per 100,000 people in 2000. But the rate rose to 3 per 100,000 in 2005, with 8,724 cases, the CDC said. "We're concerned that we're seeing this upturn among men who have sex with men because it could foreshadow bigger increases," CDC epidemiologist Dr. Hillard Weinstock said. Ghanem of Johns Hopkins faulted the gay and bisexual community, public health leaders and the medical establishment for failing to get across a message of prevention, citing "safe-sex fatigue" after the advent of powerful AIDS drugs in the 1990s. "Once these wonder drugs came along, patients no longer saw HIV as a death sentence, and clinicians unfortunately became more lackadaisical about conveying prevention messages," Ghanem said. Use of a smokable form of the illegal drug methamphetamine known as "crystal meth" also is associated with unsafe sexual practices linked to syphilis, Ghanem said. The syphilis rate among men is nearly six times higher than for women. The vast majority of male cases is among gays and bisexuals.

..:: STOP AIDS, KEEP THE PROMISE ::..

..:: MAN NIGERIA ::..
Stop AIDS, Keep the Promise

World Aids Day is a global event organized by the World Aids Campaign. In 2007 and 2008 the theme for World AIDS Day "leadership", a theme which is being promoted with the slogan, "Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise."As an example to national leaders and decision makers, individuals are asked to pledge their leadership and commitment to fighting HIV and AIDS by making their own pledge. We hope all MAN NIGERIA users will support this action and take the pledge. You can do this online by clicking the link under this logo:Make your pledge here.Why the theme of leadership?Since the beginning of the epidemic, experience has clearly demonstrated that significant advances in the response to HIV have been achieved when there is strong and committed leadership. Leaders are distinguished by their action, innovation and vision; their personal example and engagement of others; and their perseverance in the face of obstacles and challenges. However, leaders are often not those in the highest offices. Leadership must be demonstrated at every level to get ahead of the disease - in families, in communities, in countries and internationally.Much of the best leadership on AIDS has been demonstrated within civil society organisations challenging the status quo. Making leadership the theme of the next two World AIDS Days will help encourage leadership on AIDS within all levels and sectors of society. We hope it will inspire and foster champions within a range of different groups and networks at local and international levels.AccountabilityLeadership as a theme follows and builds on the 2006 theme of accountability. Despite the efforts to hold leaders accountable in 2006, progress in halting HIV is falling far short of targets.Over 5700 people died each day from AIDS-related illnesses in 2007. Over 6800 people are still being infected with HIV daily, about 1200 of whom are children under 15 and about 2900 are women 15 years and older. The infection rates in young people ages 15-24 remain frighteningly high.In North America and across Western Europe (particularly in the UK) infection rates among men who have sex with men continue to rise alarmingly. We know these infections and these deaths are preventable and avoidable if promises by countries to scale up access to prevention, treatment, care and support for all are to be fulfilled by 2010.In high level meetings, governments of rich countries promised to increase the spending on development aid to 0.7 percent of their annual budget. Only a handful of countries have done so. In the Abuja Declaration, African leaders committed to allocating 15 percent of their budgets to health. This has happened in just one or two countries, with only one-third of African countries spending over 10 percent. Promises are not being kept because there is a lack of leadership at every level. For more information about HIV and AIDS around the world,please visit the following websites:World Aids Campaign (International)UNAIDS (International)EuroHIV (International)Deutsche Aids Hilfe (Deutschland)Aids Fonds (Niederlande)Gay Mens Health Crisis (USA)Terence Higgins Trust (GB)AIDeS (Frankreich)Lega Italiana per la Lotta Contro l'AIDS (Italien)Stop Sida (Spanien)Aids Portugal (Portugal)