More Effective Prevention Needed for MRSA, HIV and Other STDs
LOS ANGELES--(Business Wire)--AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), today expressed concern over a
recent study first reported publicly today in an 'Annals of Internal
Medicine' article which found that sexually active gay men in San
Francisco were 13 times as likely to contract methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a drug-resistant strain of bacteria,
than their heterosexual counterparts. On the heels of recent increases
in both HIV infections and syphilis among men-who-have-sex-with-men
(MSM), AHF believes a multi-pronged public health approach to the
prevention of infectious diseases and STDs targeting this and other
at-risk populations must be undertaken. AHF also believes that it is
crucial that such an effort be sustained for the longer term, and that
despite potential budgetary cuts on a state and federal level,
significant public health resources and funding must be targeted to
help break the chain of new infections in the MSM community, and which
according to today's report, also have the potential to spread into
the general population.
According to Reuters ("Drug-resistant Staph Passed in Gay Sex--US
Study," Amanda Beck, Reporter, 1/14/08), "Incidence of MRSA is rising
along with the resurgence of syphilis, rectal gonorrhea, and new HIV
infections partly because of changes in beliefs about the severity of
HIV and an increase in risky behaviors, such as illicit drug use and
having sex that abrades the skin, Diep's team wrote."
"I am concerned by this latest report showing a significant
increase in MRSA infections among men-who-have-sex-with-men, a
population already at higher risk for possible HIV exposure," said Dr.
Homayoon Khanlou, Chief of Medicine for AIDS Healthcare Foundation.
"We know that co-infection with HIV and other STDs can also decrease a
patient's overall well-being and make it easier for an individual to
transmit or contract any of these infections. We need to work together
to step up our public health outreach and adopt innovative,
multi-pronged approaches to the prevention of these infections before
they have a chance to become entrenched and endemic both in the MSM
and general populations."
"This report should serve as a wake up call and as a catalyst to
fast-track and develop innovative, broad-based approaches to public
health outreach programs nationwide," said Whitney Engeran, III,
Director, Public Health Division for AIDS Healthcare Foundation.
"Sustained and focused prevention efforts and effective risk-reduction
initiatives must be scaled up across the country if we are going to
reverse this trend in infections among MSM. Better leadership is
required at all levels: federal, state, local and within communities
themselves. The efforts should not only be made when the spotlight is
on, such as after a report like this one. We need a sustained, unified
commitment that doesn't flag when the numbers begin to decrease."
"In February, 2003, Los Angeles County faced an outbreak of MRSA
among inmates in its county jail system. At the same time, an
escalating outbreak of syphilis, a highly transmissible, yet readily
curable sexually transmitted disease was wreaking havoc in the
County's general public health system. Many of those cases of MRSA and
syphilis were identified in individuals who also had HIV," said
Michael Weinstein, President of AIDS Healthcare Foundation. "That
confluence of co-infections underscored a crucial need for an
aggressive response from County public health officials and leaders.
Today's study, which indicates that MRSA is now appearing more
regularly outside of traditional populations in San Francisco, Boston,
New York and Los Angeles, prompts us to renew this urgent call to a
develop more responsive and effective overall public health strategy
nationwide."
Today's 'Annals of Internal Medicine' article also comes as the
CDC prepares to release its latest data on HIV incidence in the
US--figures which the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and
Bloomberg recently reported may be up to 50% or more higher than the
previous CDC estimate of 40,000 new HIV cases per year.
"The CDC is preparing to announce that there are as many as 15,000
to 20,000 more HIV infections per year here in the US than previously
thought. Yet last week, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
proposed a 2008 budget that contains ten percent across the board cuts
to the state's entire public health budget, including an $11 million
cut in AIDS services as numbers and infections continue to rise,"
added AHF's Weinstein. "Despite a significant state budget shortfall,
we need to ensure an effective response to the AIDS epidemic as well
as related and increasing public health threats such as MRSA. We need
to take a long hard look at reallocating and restoring critical
resources to make HIV, STD and general public health screenings for
all populations a routine part of medical care, and normalize the
process of prevention, testing and treatment."
About AHF
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is the US' largest non-profit
HIV/AIDS healthcare, research, prevention and education provider, as
well as the operator of California's largest alternative HIV testing
program, administering over 15,000 tests per year. AHF currently
provides treatment, care and support services to more than 62,000
individuals in 20 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin
America/Caribbean and Asia. Additional information is available at
www.aidshealth.org.
AIDS Healthcare Foundation
Lori Yeghiayan, Associate Director of Communications
323-860-5227 work
323-377-4312 mobile
lori.yeghiayan@aidshealth.org
or
Ged Kenslea, Communications Director
323-860-5225 work
323-791-5526 mobile
gedk@aidshealth.org
Copyright Business Wire 2008
