Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1997. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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United Press International; Thursday, September 25, 1997 - 5:55 PM EDT
The proportion of men who have sex with men who are diagnosed with the disease increased 74 percent in 26 clinics surveyed across the nation from 1993 to 1996. In one Portland, Ore., clinic the rise was 124 percent, from 33 to 74 cases.
In the report issued today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, public health officials said, "This new informaiton should serve as a wake-up call to all populations at risk, including the gay community that high-risk sexual behaviors continue to have very real consequences."
Federal health officials told United Press International that the rising gonorrhea rates indicate there may be a reversal of the trend away from unprotected sex that began in the early 1980s during the height of the AIDS scare.
The CDC says gonorrhea trends may reflect changes in sexual behaviors in ways that can increase the risk of infection with HIV, the AIDS virus.
The survey casts a shadow over good news about AIDS in recent weeks. Earlier this month the government reported a 23 percent drop in AIDS- related deaths from 1995 to 1996, and a 6-percent decline in new cases of AIDS.
CDC epidemiologist Patricia Fleming told UPI the hopeful AIDS figures were a result of new treatments that slowed the progress of the disease.
She says, "People with AIDS are living longer and living healthier lives," and that there has been an 11 percent increase of people who have AIDS and are still alive.
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