Mystery disease kills gay men – archive, 1981 | Aids and HIV | The Guardian

Contents:

• OUTBREAK OF BACTERIAL ILLNS AMONG GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN FLORIDA HAS LEFT AT LEAST 7 AD
• MYSTERY DISEASE KILLS GAY MEN – ARCHIVE, 1981
• GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN'S HEALTH ISSU
• THE GAY BOWEL SYNDROME: A MON PROBLEM OF HOMOSEXUAL PATIENTS THE EMERGENCY PARTMENT

OUTBREAK OF BACTERIAL ILLNS AMONG GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN FLORIDA HAS LEFT AT LEAST 7 AD

ASERIOUS disorr of the immune system that has been known to doctors for ls than a year - a disorr that appears to affect primarily male homosexuals - has now afflicted at least 335 people, of whom has killed 136, officials of the Centers for Disease Control Atlanta said yterday. Feral health officials are ncerned that tens of thoands more homosexual men may be silently affected and therefore vulnerable to potentially grave ailments.

D., for acquired immunoficiency disease, or GRID, for gay-related immunoficiency. But most s have occurred among homosexual men, particular those who have had numero sexual partners, often anonymo partners whose inty remas unknown. '' Prelimary rults of immunologil tts have led some Feral health officials to fear that tens of thoands of homosexual men may have the acquired immune dysfunctn and be at risk for velopg plitns such as Kaposi's ncer, fectns and other disorrs at some future is ''a matter of urgent public health and scientific importance, '' Dr.

Epimlogists om the Centers for Disease Control have done studi among homosexual men wh and whout the immune disorr but matched age, background and other characteristics. After ttg for more than 130 potential risk factors, they found that the median number of lifetime male sexual partners for affected homosexual men was 1, 160, pared to 524 for male homosexual men who did not have the syndrome. The ncer has not been lked to homosexuals Ai, and the reasons for s high equency there are s new form this untry, the urse of Kaposi's sara generally has been rapid and fatal.

MYSTERY DISEASE KILLS GAY MEN – ARCHIVE, 1981

Given the fact that homosexualy is not new, the most puzzlg qutn is why the outbreak is occurrg now, and not sometime the past. Bee homosexuals affected by GRID have reported g nre dgs more equently than homosexuals who have not, some studi have foced on this class of dgs, which have e to wispread street e sce the 1960's, But although epimlogil studi have not ''totally exonerated nr, the scientific evince to implite them is que shaky, '' acrdg to Dr.

Mass, a New York Cy physician, said that ''gay people whose life style nsists of anonymo sexual enunters are gog to have to do some ser rethkg.

GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN'S HEALTH ISSU

''A versn of this article appears prt on, Sectn C, Page 1 of the Natnal edn wh the headle: NEW HOMOSEXUAL DISORDER WORRIES HEALTH OFFICIALS. Feral and state health officials are vtigatg an outbreak of mengocl disease Florida primarily fectg men who intify as gay, bisexual or men who have sex wh of Tuday, at least 24 s have been nfirmed and seven people have died, acrdg to the Centers for Disease Control and outbreak is so severe that the feral health agency is llg "one of worst outbreaks of mengocl disease among gay and bisexual men U. Although the disease has been primarily intified the gay and bisexual muny, there is currently no evince that is a sexually transmted fectn.

Certa people are at higher risk for beg fected, cludg those who live crowd plac or have HIV, but is not a so-lled "gay disease, " Ch-Hong said.

"In fact, more people who are not gay get mengocl fectn. "Ch-Hong said the risk to the public is low bee mengocl outbreaks tend to be regnal and typilly do not spread om state to he urged people to follow the CDC's advice, which is that anyone who intifi as gay, bisexual or men who have sex wh men gets a mengocl vacce if they live Florida or plan on travelg to Florida. José Romero, director of the CDC's Natnal Center for Immunizatn and Rpiratory Diseas, said a ntued, "Bee of the outbreak Florida, and the number of Pri events beg held across the state g weeks, 's important that gay and bisexual men who live Florida get vaccated, and those travelg to Florida talk to their healthre provir about gettg a MenACWY vacce.

THE GAY BOWEL SYNDROME: A MON PROBLEM OF HOMOSEXUAL PATIENTS THE EMERGENCY PARTMENT

Boston: A wave of pnmonia and ncer that is killg homosexual men across the Uned Stat has been traced to a breakdown the body’s disease-fightg system that turns harmls germs to killers, rearchers ndn – so new do not yet have a name – has been reported 180 people 15 stat sce was first spotted last July, and 75 of the victims have died. Nety-two per cent of the patients are homosexual men. Doctors do not know what weakens the people’s immuny, but some of them speculate that the culpr is repeated fectns wh a vis that is mon among homosexuals.

Four of the patients the latt studi also had rare sh ulcers ed by the herp simplex vis, and rearchers said that this “suggts that our fdgs are part of a natnwi epimic of immunoficiency among male homosexuals. ”A study directed by Dr Michael Gottlieb, of UCLA, said that homosexuals may be repeatedly fected wh this vis, which is rried semen and other body secretns.

One doctor speculated that the fectns might also be related to the e of dgs mon among homosexuals. Gay and Bisexual Men's Health Issu.