Prevalence and characteristics of gastrointestinal infections in men who have sex with men diagnosed with rectal chlamydia infection in the UK: an ‘unlinked anonymous’ cross-sectional study

Abstract

Word count: 15642 ABSTRACT (word count 212)

What is the overlap between HIV and shigellosis epidemics in England: further evidence of MSM transmission?

“…There are also plausible biological explanations for the overlap between Shigella and HIV epidemics, including increased shedding of Shigella species, a prolonged infectious period and increased susceptibility to Shigella in people living with HIV 16. While our data suggest that most MSM with HIV and Shigella were not clinically immunosuppressed, HIV might still affect immunological responses to Shigella , increasing the severity of clinical disease and duration of infectiousness 22…”

“…Until now, the role of sexual transmission between men in the Shigella epidemic has been largely inferred from gender ratio studies, case series and small epidemiological studies 8 9 11 16. Our study adds to this evidence base and suggests that the national increase in Shigella incidence in England might be due, at least in part, to Shigella infections in MSM with HIV.…”

Recent epidemiology of sexually transmissible enteric infections in men who have sex with men

“…The number and size of STEI outbreaks is likely to represent only a fraction of infections since many symptomatic individuals will not seek care or provide stool specimens for clinical diagnosis [13,61]; asymptomatic and/or persistent infections may also play a role in transmission [13,86,87] The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS, the National Institute for Health Research, the Department of Health or Public Health England.…”

International Spread of Multidrug-Resistant Campylobacter coli in Men Who Have Sex With Men in Washington State and Québec, 2015–2018

“…In addition to Shigella , a male skew for non-travel-associated enteric infections was found for Campylobacter [ 41 ]. Surveillance of MSM undergoing testing for rectal Chlamydia infections in the United Kingdom found that 1.8% of specimens contained Campylobacter spp, half of which were asymptomatic [ 42 ]. In the absence of specific treatment, asymptomatic carriage of enteric pathogens may persist for weeks after the clinical resolution of acute gastroenteritis, allowing ongoing transmission.…”