No HIV impact seen in Calif. syphilis surge

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An alarming outbreak of syphilis among gay men in San Francisco and Los Angeles has not yet caused a corresponding jump in AIDS virus infections, U.S. health officials reported on Thursday.

But there is a steady annual increase in HIV infections—13 percent in one group of men studied, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.

In its weekly report on death and disease, the CDC discussed a 1998-2002 study into syphilis and HIV incidence in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

"That investigation ... indicated that, as of 2002, the outbreaks of syphilis had not had a substantial impact on HIV incidence among (gay and bisexual men) in these two cities,” it said.

“Whether the syphilis outbreaks are sentinel events indicating increased risk behavior that could eventually result in increased HIV incidence is not known,” the CDC said

CDC officials and other health experts have been predicting that HIV could take off, because the rise in syphilis cases means men are having unprotected sex and engaging in other behaviors that can spread both diseases.

There is also evidence that having a sexually transmitted bacterial disease such as syphilis can make it easier to catch HIV. While syphilis can be treated with antibiotics, there is no cure for HIV.

The CDC noted that its statistics are incomplete because some men with syphilis refused to be tested for HIV.

Syphilis cases among gay and bisexual men soared from four to 260 between 1998 and 2002 in San Francisco.

In 2000, 67 gay men in Los Angeles County had syphilis but the number jumped to 299 in 2002, the CDC said. 

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