A new, highly drug-resistant strain of the “flesh-eating” MRSA bacteria is being spread among gay men in San Francisco and Boston, researchers reported on Monday.
In a study published online by the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, the bacteria seemed to be spread most easily through anal intercourse but also through casual skin-to-skin contact and touching contaminated surfaces.
The authors warned that unless microbiology laboratories were able to identify the strain and doctors prescribed the proper antibiotic therapy, the infection could soon spread among other groups and become a wider threat.
The new strain seems to have “spread rapidly” in gay populations in San Francisco and Boston, the researchers wrote, and “has the potential for rapid, nationwide dissemination” among gay men.
The study was based on a review of medical records from outpatient clinics in San Francisco and Boston and nine medical centers in San Francisco.
The Castro district in San Francisco has the highest number of gay residents in the country, according to the University of California, San Francisco. One in 588 residents is infected with the new multidrug-resistant MRSA strain, the study found. That compares with 1 in 3,800 people in San Francisco, according to statistical analyses based on ZIP codes.
A separate part of the study found that gay men in San Francisco were about 13 times more likely to be infected than other people in the city.
Read the rest.
Looking at it in the context of evolution consider people who are cautious are less likely to become infected, more likely to find out their partner is infected and avoid sexual contact. With a well educated population you'll have more people taking evasive action of one sort or another. Something in their genes has a greater possibility of being passed on to their offspring.
ReplyDeleteThe reason for MRSA spreading is not Gay men fucking around. The reasons are a frighteningly low level of health care, an abominable state of cleanliness in hospitals and health centers, and a pathetic failure to recognise the epidemic/pandemic potential by local and national health officials.
ReplyDeleteGay men in the Castro area are more at risk simply because there are more Gay men per square mile there than probably anywhere else in the world.
MRSA really doesn't need to be shot up your hole to get transmitted. Its almost as easy to get as a common cold. But that's the whole point, just as easy, just as difficult to cure, but far more deadly.
Once again, just like hiv, we are the victims here - not the perpetrators.
I agree with Nic--- especially since the original researcher seems to be suggesting a relatively practical solution-- improved washing facilities where gay men have sex! Let's get some activism going on that....
ReplyDeleteand Pam from Pam's House Blend sends these related thoughts:
Blaming Gay Sex for MRSA spread...
from Pam's House Blend -
There is an interesting sad article today on Reuters regarding MRSA and its spread among gay men during sex: http://www.reuters.com/article...
This really has me steaming a bit..... yet another demonizing of gay sex, and once again to scare the population and have them view gay sex as dangerous to the masses. (Reminds me of GRIT-speak from the 80's.)
MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant Staph Aureus) and VRE (Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus) are two products that came from hospitals and healthcare providers abusing the use of antibiotics combined with the general evolution of the germs themselves.
Frankly, we used to see these two on occasion in the hospital settings only.... and to be very honest, the hospitals were not doing all they could to keep them at bay. They were not screening incoming patients (as many are now doing today) and they were not offering an assurance that patients who were discharged (even those who had stayed in the same units or even same rooms with those infected) were also not screened before leaving.
The result? -- MRSA and VRE are now being seen everywhere in the community and is no longer confined to the hospital and healthcare facility walls. MRSA is especially common and found especially among children. The fact is that we have known this was going to enter into mainstream communities for quite some time, and because of politics, lack of funding and disinterest, it has gone largely ignored until now.
Could this be spread through gay sex? Yes of course, but it could be spread through straight sex just as well. Given that our community may be a bit more amorous, yes, we should made aware of the concern for spreading it, but to send out this article in this way does not serve anyone. All this irresponsibly written article does is demonize the gay community in the eyes of the conservatives and the religious right wing. It gives them more fodder for their attacks and it will most certainly put the gay community on the offensive.
A different approach would have served everyone while still reporting the findings. For example, the physician is quoted with words like "possible" and "probable", yet the information is being reported as some new fact that has been recently confirmed.
If we all want to curb the spread of MRSA and other opportunistic infections, and given how widespread this truly is, it would make more sense to report truthfully that all people can be involved, it could sever as a "warning" to the gay community in the interest of their health instead of being presented as it currently reads ....'we have the gay community to thank for the spread of MRSA'... whether that was the intention of the author or not, it certainly comes across this way to the general reader.
I also do not understand why the medical community has not come forward to admit that they allowed this to spread into the general population and I also cannot see why a home testing kit has not been made available. It should be made and marketed to the general population with special emphasis on high risk groups which include immuno-compromised individuals, the elderly and children. This would be a positive step toward erradication and much more productive than pointing undeserved and incorrect blame at one particular group.
Thank you Nic and Chris, for a reality check to the hysteria... The MRSA thing is not, not, not new. The publication of an article is new. We have known about this for a couple of years, and we have seen a few "waves" in Chicago. This sort of context is missing in the hysteria. This is not to say we don't need to be mindful and careful and take care of ourselves and our community, but running around with our heads cut off and equating it with gay sexual practices is not helpful. I can contract MRSA from spotting a buddy at a gym as easily as I can from fucking him.
ReplyDeleteMore dialogue from across the blogosphere I want to share with you here....
ReplyDelete--------------
MRSA: The Small Print
via The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan by Andrew Sullivan on 1/15/08
A reader writes:
Interesting that you mentioned the MRSA article from Annals of Internal Medicine, but I'm surprised that you didn't note the limitations of this study. The Annals editors wrote in their summary
“The data were passively reported or retrospectively collected and are therefore subject to bias.”
They went on:
"Our study has limitations...
Our incidence estimates for San Francisco come from a passive surveillance system and may underestimate the incidence of true infection. We relied on retrospective chart review for identification of risk factors for multidrug-resistant USA300 infection in the 2 clinic populations; because data were not collected or documented systematically, our estimates of risk may be influenced by selection, referral, documentation, or other biases. Specific sexual behaviors were not assessed or documented in clinic charts; we therefore cannot comment on the association between multidrug-resistant USA300 infection and specific male–male sexual practices."
MRSA has been around a long time, and as a practicing Navy physician I have seen outbreaks in millitary populations for years. A 2005 study by the Navy Environmental Health Center that did not make any headlines showed that community acquired MRSA was present in 3-5 % of Navy recruits. There have been significant outbreaks in the SEAL training school in San Diego, as well as the Marine Recruit Training Depot, but this has not made the news. MRSA has also been a problem for years in hospitals and nursing homes. Now that someone has found a community outbreak in a gay population, it's "big" news ... bullshit.