Meningitis outbreaks among Gay Men

Lord...

So Meningitis is back on the attack. Over the weekend, I read about the virus hitting hard in the gay community:

There’s no known medical reason why meningitis, which is transmitted through saliva, would spread more among gay and bisexual men. Yet New York, Chicago and now Southern California have experienced outbreaks disproportionately affecting that population.

“It is perplexing,” said Dr. Rachel Civen, a medical epidemiologist at L.A. County’s Department of Public Health.

Of the 13 cases of meningitis this year in L.A. County — excluding Long Beach, which has its own health department — seven were gay men. There were only 12 meningitis cases in the county in all of 2015, one of which was a gay or bisexual man.

In Long Beach, there have been six meningitis cases this year, half of which were gay men. Last year there were no meningitis cases in the city, according to city officials.

Civen, who has tracked the county’s meningitis cases for a decade, said it was “pretty striking” that half or more of the cases in both jurisdictions were gay men.

Meningitis cases in L.A. and Orange counties are thought to be connected because lab testing showed that many patients were infected with the same strain of meningococcus, known as serotype C.

So, please go get tested and be careful

source

Has Meningitis come to Los Angeles?

Could the meningitis outbreak be here in LA?

A West Hollywood gay man named Brett Shaad was declared brain dead from the bacterial meningitis earlier this week. Now officials are warning sexually active gay men about the illness.

Here's more:

Brett Shaad was declared brain dead but remained on life support Friday afternoon, said Elizabeth Ashford, a spokeswoman for Shaad’s family. She declined to release further details.

That corrected a statement made earlier in the day by West Hollywood Councilman John Duran who said Shaad had died and had been removed from life support.

Duran said later that friends who were in Shaad’s hospital room since told him that he was declared brain dead.

Duran, who saw Shaad last weekend, described the openly gay man as being “robust and healthy” prior to Monday, when he began to feel sick.

On Wednesday, he went into the emergency room. By Thursday, he was in a coma.

As we speak, there are tests to see if this is the same strain of meningococcal infections that hit New York City. Please, guys in both places, be safe.

source

Meningitis Outbreak continues to get Worse in NYC

Hey, NYC fam... Be careful.

A deadly meningitis outbreak among gay men in New York City just got more serious, officials said today. Two men died of meningitis during the first two months of the year, raising the total number of cases to 22, with 3 of the last 5 cases resulting in death. The city's Department of Health upgraded its response to recommend vaccinations for all gay men throughout the city, regardless of HIV status and geographical location.

This started in September and it seems to be getting worse. The city suggest that guys get the recommended vaccines if they engaged in any sex party after Sept. 1.

Also it has been noted that sexually active guys from the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brownsville, Bushwick, Clinton Hill, Crown Heights, Downtown Brooklyn, Dumbo, East New York, Prospect Heights and Williamsburg should get tested.

source

NYC faces a Spike of Meningitis

The New York City’s health department ordered 10,000 doses of the meningitis vaccine due to the spike of Meningitis.

Here's more:

A cluster of four cases of “invasive meningococcal disease” that occurred among the city’s gay and bisexual men in the past four weeks, there have been 12 cases altogether since August of 2010 and four of those men have died.

Among the 12 cases, one occurred in 2010, three occurred in 2011, and eight occurred this year, according to a separate alert that was distributed to health care providers on September 27. The men ranged in age from 21 to 59, and eight were HIV-positive.

“Eight of the 12 cases were known to be infected with the human immunodeficiency virus,” read the health care provider alert. “Five reported using cocaine and/ or crystal methamphetamine. Four reported using Internet sites to meet men for sex. Three cases, however, were not known to be HIV-infected, did not report using drugs, and did not report using Internet sites to meet men for sex.”

Y'all be careful out there.

 source