Fri 13 Mar 2015 In: New Zealand Daily News View at Wayback View at NDHA
An editorial in the New Zealand Medical Journal reports five gay men have been infected with a rare STI since September 2013. Lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV) is endemic in developing countries but is uncommon here. It is sometimes caused by chlamydia, and symptoms include rectal pain, bloody discharge, cramping abdominal pain, constipation, lesion and ulcers, fever and headaches. Of the five men infected, four are believed to have contracted the STI in New Zealand. The fifth had just returned from a holiday overseas. All of the men reported high-risk sexual behaviour and all had also contracted either HIV or gonorrhoea, or both. The last previous reported cases had been two gay men who had just travelled to Australia in 2008. The report calls for awareness campaigns and enhanced testing. One of its authors, Dr Peter Saxton from the Gay Men's Sexual Health Research Group, says we need to know if novel STIs are circulating, the magnitude and speed of spread, and which groups, such as gay men, are most affected. "That is basic information before we can act effectively," he says. “Regular STI screening is important if you’re sexually active. This requires disclosing same-sex activity, and GPs should be proactive and welcoming around their patients’ sexuality. All gay and bisexual men have a right to health care that is safe for them, non-stigmatising and relevant to their needs. “We’re a small community that’s more closely sexually connected than the general population. In practice, this means the first few times a young gay or bisexual male has sex, they’re more likely than their heterosexual counterparts to encounter an STI. Our access to the right advice, condoms and screening needs to reflect that reality.”
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Friday, 13th March 2015 - 9:46am