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High rate of N. gonorrhoeae among MSM growing
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The incidence of Neisseria gonorrhoeae among men who have sex with men is not only higher than that of heterosexual men and women, but may be increasing, according to data presented at the Meeting of the International Society for STD Research in Brisbane, Australia.
“We knew anecdotally that there was a high incidence of disease among persons presenting for care,” researcher Mark Stenger, of the CDC’s STD prevention division, told Infectious Disease News. “What we haven’t been able to do specifically for Neisseria gonorrhoeae is to be able to calculate the population-based incidence for this population. We have used national estimates of the size of the gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men population to look at the incidence of syphilis — which is clearly resurgent — but this is the first time across multiple jurisdictions that we’ve actually been able to quantify the rate of disease for gonorrhea.”
Mark Stenger
Stenger and colleagues examined the burden of gonorrhea among MSM using data collected through the STD surveillance network for 12 geographically disparate states and cities from 2010 to 2013. A random sample of reported participants were interviewed to identify the gender and sexual orientation of infected individuals. This information was combined with U.S. Census and Gallup opinion polling data to calculate the size of the gay, bisexual and other MSM population as well as its burden of gonorrhea infection.
The rate of N. gonorrhoeae infection was greater among gay and bisexual MSM than women and heterosexual men (rate ratio range, 10.7-13.9). In all regions, gonorrhea incidence was highest among MSM aged 25 to 29 years, with annual infection incidence exceeding 3,400 cases per 100,000. In addition, incidence among MSM increased during the study period from 1,169.7 cases per 100,000 in 2010 to 1,474.4 per 100,000 in 2013. The increase among heterosexual men was smaller, while no change was seen among women.
Stenger said the growing disease burden is not only a cause for concern among this sexual minority, but for the larger population as well.
“We know that having gonorrhea also increases likelihood of transmission or acquisition of HIV, so this is very much a concern for us,” Stenger said. “Also, when we think about the bisexual population, that’s a bridge for gonorrhea incidence into the heterosexual population.
“It’s very important for us to think of this as a bellwether population for trends that we might see more broadly disseminate across the [whole] population.” –by Dave Muoio
Reference:
Stenger M, et al. Poster # 11.16. Presented at: Meeting of the International Society for Sexually Transmitted Diseases Research; Sept. 13-16, 2015; Brisbane, Australia.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.