Rare chlamydia strain 'infecting gay men'
A particularly bad strain of chlamydia not usually seen in the US appears to be slowly spreading among gay and bisexual men, and the infection may increase their chances of getting or spreading the AIDS virus.
Called LGV chlamydia, the sexually transmitted disease has caused a worrisome outbreak in Europe, where some countries have confirmed dozens of cases. Diagnoses confirmed by US health officials are still low, just 27 since they warned a year ago that the strain was headed here.
But specialists say that’s undoubtedly a fraction of the infections, because this illness is incredibly hard to diagnose with few US clinics and laboratories able to test for it.
Painful symptoms can be mistaken for other illnesses, such as irritable bowel syndrome.
And because LGV chlamydia doesn’t always cause immediate noticeable symptoms, an unknown number of people may unwittingly harbour and spread it, along with an increased risk of HIV transmission.
“My feeling is that what we’re seeing now is still the tip of the iceberg,” says Dr. Philippe Chiliade of the Whitman-Walker Clinic in Washington DC, which diagnosed its first few cases of LGV last month and is beginning to push for more gay men to be screened.
The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention had already recorded an 8% increase in HIV among gay and bisexual men between 2003 and 2004, before LGV’s arrival was recognised.
“We are really concerned about this,” says Dr Catherine McLean of CDC’s HIV and STD prevention programme.
Increasing the ability to test for LGV is “what’s really critically important,” she adds.
“The prevalence of the disease is probably quite a bit higher than the reported cases indicate, either here or in Europe, but we don’t yet know that.”
Three weeks of the antibiotic doxycycline effectively treats LGV. But patients have to know they’re at risk, and then find a test.
Chlamydia, caused by bacteria, is among the most common sexually transmitted diseases. Millions may become infected with common strains, best known for causing infertility in women if left untreated.
This more virulent strain is called “lymphogranuloma venereum,” or LGV. It’s not a new form, but one rarely seen outside of Africa or Southeast Asia.
So STD specialists were stunned in late 2004, when the Netherlands announced an outbreak.
Cases have also surfaced in much of Western Europe and Britain. As with the US cases, many also have HIV.
Symptoms differ from regular chlamydia: swollen lymph nodes in the groin; genital or rectal ulcers; and painful bowel movements and other gastrointestinal symptoms that may mimic inflammatory bowel disease.
Such symptoms leave patients particularly susceptible to HIV infection if they also encounter that virus.
LGV can infect both sexes, although new cases diagnosed so far are among men having sex with men.
