Gonorrhoea in homosexual men and media coverage of the acquired immune deficiency syndrome in London 1982-3.

Abstract

Gonorrhoea in homosexual men and media coverage of the acquired immune deficiency syndrome in London 1982-3 Although the number of cases of the acquired immune deficiency syndrome in the United Kingdom is still low at 51 (June 1984), there has been considerable media and public interest. Gonorrhoea is one of the most common diseases acquired by homosexual men. It has a short incubation period, and in the absence of routinely collected data on changes in sexual behaviour it serves as a reasonable surrogate index. A decrease of 39% was reported in the number of homosexual men with gonorrhoea in Denver between the beginning of 1982 and 1983.' We attempted to assess whether reports of the acquired immune deficiency syndrome in the national newspapers and magazines for homosexual people and on television altered the number of cases of gonorrhoea among homosexual men attending our department. Methods and results Patients attending this department are screened for infection with Neisseria gonorrhoea. We calculated the rate of gonorrhoea (number of patients with gonorrhoea/total number of patients with and without gonorrhoea) among homosexual and bisexual, and heterosexual, men attending our department from January 1982 to September 1983. The coverage of the acquired immune deficiency syndrome in the national newspapers was assessed from the records of the Hall Carpenter Memorial Archives, a charity that subscribes to an agency that monitors references tohomosexuality in national newspapers. Additional information was obtained from magazines published in London for homosexuals, the Haemophilia Society, the Gay Switchboard, and the Terrence Higgins Trust. Measurement was confined to the national newspapers published in London (including the London evening paper but excluding regional, Welsh, and Irish newspapers) and magazines published in London for homosexuals. Two indices were compiled: the number of references to the acquired immune deficiency syndrome and the length in column centimetres of articles. Television programmes broadcast in London were also recorded. Comparison between quarters was carried out using x2 analysis.

The persistence of Shigella flexneri in the United States: increasing role of adult males.

“…An increase in the number of homeless men, particularly those discharged from ' This decrease may be analogous to recent reports of decreases in rectopharyngeal gonorrhea in men in New York City, 15 and in gonorrhea in men in Denver,'6 and London. 17 However, the continued nationwide increase in S. flexneri isolations from adult men through 1985 suggests that such behavior changes are not widespread, or that non-sexual transmission among adult men is also important. In some areas, case-investigation of S. flexneri reported from men may help identify those in need of health education about AIDS.…”

Taking the anxiety out of AIDS

“…One early study has suggested that in the homosexual community at least, public awareness of AIDS, arising from increased media coverage, has an impact on sexual practice, as measured by declining rates of rectal gonorrhea. 23…”

Sexually transmitted disease surveillance in Britain: 1983.

“…This finding may represent a national decline in promiscuous activity among homosexual males after health education about the prevention of AIDS, as shown in one clinic in London in 1983. 6 Laboratory reports of f lactamase producing N gonorrhoeae showed an unexpected change. The number of reports more than doubled each year between 1977 and 1982, but the increase in 1983 was only 18% (1033 cases in 1982, 1223 in 1983), although those infected in Britain increased more than those infected abroad.7 The explanation for this sudden fall in the rate of increase is not apparent but might be misleading and be due to a decline in reporting' or be related to the increased use of new antibiotics in the treatment of gonorrhoea and consequently less need of reference of cultures for n<itivity testing.…”