Venereal Diseases

U.S. syphilis rates reached an all-time low in 1999, suggesting that it may be possible to virtually eliminate the disease from the American scene, but gonorrhea rates reversed a two-decade trend by rising 9%, researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday. The syphilis decline was the result of natural cycles of the disease and an aggressive federal program of testing and education.

With cases of AIDS soaring among women, health experts are taking a hard look at an old question. When a woman's partner won't wear a condom, is there another way for a woman to protect herself from HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases? Researchers at dozens of U.S. organizations are working on a safe-sex solution for women, focusing on a promising group of chemicals called microbicides.

In the search for chemical agents to battle sexually transmitted diseases, scientists are following a number of novel approaches. Some of the products in the research pipeline include: * ReProtect, a Baltimore firm, is developing a gel that would create an environment inhospitable to HIV when applied in the vagina. The product, called BufferGel, is also designed to create a barrier that can inhibit the transmission of bacteria and viruses into vaginal tissue.

Gonorrhea climbed 9% in the United States in 1998 after 12 straight years of decline, the government reported Thursday. Debra Mosure, an epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, speculated that the safe-sex practices that were adopted because of AIDS are being abandoned because of the introduction of more effective drugs against the virus. "There does seem to be some real increases in the overall number of gonorrhea cases due to unsafe sexual behavior," she said.

When the price of beer goes up, teenage gonorrhea goes down, federal health officials say. Data released Thursday by the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that a tax increase of 20 cents per six-pack nationwide could reduce gonorrhea rates in young people by almost 9%. Why?

Responding to an outbreak of 52 syphilis cases among predominantly gay men with multiple sexual partners, the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors approved a $1.5-million emergency campaign Tuesday to combat the disease and promote safe sex. As part of its plan, the county health department will distribute 500,000 condoms to clinics and community groups in the areas with the highest risk and will launch an ad campaign.

It's the blue line for uncertainty. At the county's Health Care Agency clinic at 1725 W. 17th St. in Santa Ana, the entrants, a good many in their mid-teens, are told to follow the blue line to complete free testing for a variety of sexually transmitted diseases, known by the acronym STD. More than 10,000 in this county each year seek testing to see whether they're carrying the HIV virus that can lead to AIDS.

The number of syphilis cases reported in an outbreak among gay men in Los Angeles County has doubled to 51 in the past two weeks, adding urgency to public health officials' efforts to contain the spread. Twenty-eight of the 51 infected people also have the human immunodeficiency virus, which causes AIDS--worrisome because syphilis sores facilitate transmission of HIV, said Peter Kerndt, director of the county's sexually transmitted diseases program.

The number of syphilis cases reported in an outbreak among gay men in Los Angeles County has doubled to 51 in the last two weeks, adding urgency to public health officials' efforts to contain the spread. Twenty-eight of the 51 infected people also have the human immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS--worrisome because syphilis sores facilitate transmission of HIV, said Peter Kerndt, director of the county's program on sexually transmitted diseases.

The county Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to launch a comprehensive media campaign to promote safe sex and aggressive condom distribution in response to a syphilis outbreak among gay men. Supervisors also directed the county Department of Health Services to develop strategies for faster reporting of syphilis and other sexually transmitted maladies and to assess the role of public and commercial sex venues in contributing to the spread of disease.