AEGiS-Miami Herald: Strain of sexual disease spreads: A sexually transmitted disease that has caused a dangerous outbreak in Europe now appears to be on the increase among men in the United States.

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2006. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Strain of sexual disease spreads: A sexually transmitted disease that has caused a dangerous outbreak in Europe now appears to be on the increase among men in the United States.

Miami Herald - February 7, 2006

WASHINGTON - A particularly bad strain of chlamydia not usually seen in this country appears to be slowly spreading among gay and bisexual men, an infection that can increase their chances of getting or spreading the AIDS virus.

Called LGV chlamydia, this sexually transmitted disease has caused a worrisome outbreak in Europe, where some countries have confirmed dozens of cases. Diagnoses confirmed by U.S. health officials still are low, just 27 since they warned a year ago that the strain was headed here.

But specialists say that's undoubtedly a fraction of the infections, because this illness is incredibly hard to diagnose: Few U.S. clinics and laboratories can test for it. Painful symptoms can be mistaken for other illnesses, such as irritable bowel syndrome.

And because LGV chlamydia doesn't always cause noticeable symptoms -- right away, at least -- an unknown number of people may silently harbor and spread it, along with an increased risk of HIV transmission.

"My feeling is that what we're seeing now is still the tip of the iceberg," says Dr. Philippe Chiliade of the Whitman-Walker Clinic in Washington, D.C., which diagnosed its first few cases of LGV last month.

Chlamydia, caused by bacteria, is among the most common sexually transmitted diseases. As many as three million Americans a year may become infected with common strains, best known for causing infertility in women if left untreated.

This more virulent strain is called "lymphogranuloma venereum," or LGV. It's not a new form, but one rarely seen outside of Africa or Southeast Asia.

So STD specialists were stunned in late 2004, when the Netherlands announced an outbreak that reached over 100 cases; last summer, one clinic there reported seeing one to two new patients a week. Cases also have surfaced in much of Western Europe and Britain. As with the U.S. cases, many also have HIV.

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