Girding for Spread of New STD
Gay City News
Duncan Osborne
DECEMBER 20, 2005
New York City Council Speaker Gifford Miller and Councilmember Christine Quinn, both Manhattan Democrats, have written to the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene asking it to outline any steps it has taken to respond to the STD lymphomagranuloma venereum (LGV).
A strain of chlamydia, LGV can infect the groin and colon. A three-week course of antibiotics is used to treat it. In the 17-month period prior to September 2004, health authorities in the Netherlands reported 92 cases among gay men. The San Francisco Health Department reported four cases, all gay men, last summer. That none of the four had visited the Netherlands led authorities to believe there may be other cases in the city.
In October 2004, CDC warned local and state health departments to be "vigilant for LGV," noting that "recent reports from Belgium, France, and Sweden confirm that LGV is occurring elsewhere in Europe."
The council members wrote: "Specifically, we would like to know what notices, if any, have been given to the public, doctors and health care facilities; what discussions, if any, have begun with [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender] community based organizations; what level of information exchange and strategy sharing, if any, has occurred with public health officials in San Francisco and Europe; and what planning and other proactive steps, if any, have occurred to address LGV if it does, in fact, hit New York City."
Health department spokesperson Sid Dinsay said in a statement that efforts to counter the disease began about two months ago: "While there are no confirmed cases of [LGV] in the city to date, the health department is part of a nationwide effort coordinated by the CDC to identify potential cases. Locally, the department is also actively working with medical providers, including the Callen-Lorde Community Health Center, to ensure that even suspect cases of LGV are identified, and that patients and their partners receive treatment."