The Soaring Syphilis Rates For Queers And Nigrahs

NIGRAHS:
Syphilis hit the black community very hard, with rates six times
higher for men and 13 times higher for women than among whites, the
CDC said. The rate for black men, 21.5 cases per 100,000, has risen 99
percent since 2003.
_______

Ha ha. Yeah, syph hit the black community hard; the black community
had nothing to do with the increase. Just po' innocent victims, as
usual. Oh dat's raht, dey needs mo education to learn how to behave.
Sheeeeeeit!
_________

Syphilis rate up for 7th year in row
Wed Mar 12, 2008 5:33pm EDT Email | Print | Share| Reprints | Single

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. syphilis rate rose for the seventh
straight year in 2007, driven by a continued surge in cases among
homosexual and bisexual men, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention said on Wednesday.

Since 2000, when the national syphilis rate sank to a low of 2.1 per
100,000 people after a decade of progress in the 1990s, the rate has
soared by 76 percent, the CDC reported.

Homosexual and bisexual men accounted for 64 percent of syphilis cases
in 2007, up from about 5 percent in 1999.

CDC officials expressed concern not only because the recent increases
in this bacterial sexually transmitted disease follows years of
declines, but also because syphilis can elevate a person's risk of
being infected with the AIDS virus and the odds of giving it to
someone else.

They also called rises among women and blacks troubling.

The overall national rate of syphilis rose by 12 percent in 2007 from
2006, reaching 3.7 cases per 100,000 people, based on preliminary CDC
data released at a meeting in Chicago.

The rate for men was 6.4 per 100,000, a 14 percent rise from 2006.

The number of syphilis cases nationwide jumped to 11,181 in 2007 from
9,756 in 2006, with men accounting for six times as many cases as
women. Rates for men and women had been roughly equivalent a decade
ago.

Syphilis hit the black community very hard, with rates six times
higher for men and 13 times higher for women than among whites, the
CDC said. The rate for black men, 21.5 cases per 100,000, has risen 99
percent since 2003.

Syphilis rates have been surging in homosexual and bisexual men in the
past decade, particularly among those who are highly sexually active
with multiple sex partners.

RISKY BEHAVIOR

"Having multiple sex partners and other high-risk behaviors like not
using condoms do put you at higher risk for HIV and syphilis," CDC
epidemiologist Dr. Hillard Weinstock said in a telephone interview.

"Syphilis can increase the likelihood of HIV transmission two to
fivefold. And CDC recommends that sexually active men who have sex
with men get tested for syphilis, HIV and other STDs at least
annually," Weinstock added.

"It is imperative that we make STD screening and treatment a central
part of the medical care for gay and bisexual men," while also finding
ways to avoid these infections including HIV in the first place, said
Dr. Kevin Fenton, who heads the CDC's STD, AIDS, tuberculosis and
viral hepatitis prevention effort.

(snip)

http://www.reuters.com/article/domes...0954820080312?
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