Syphilis on the rise in LOS

[reader]

Excerpted from Coconuts Bangkok (10 May)

Prevalence of Unsafe Sex Leads to the Return of Syphilis in Thailand

Syphilis is back, and that is very bad, the Department of Disease (DDC) control has warned.

The department – assigned to monitor the outbreak – believes the rising rate of syphilis, especially amongst citizens aged 15-24, reflects increasing rates of unsafe sex taking place among young adults.

The rate of syphilis infections has been gradually going up since 2013. Just last year, diagnosis increased by 36.9 percent among the age group in question, DDC director-general Suwanchai Wattanayingcharoenchai said Tuesday, according to ThaiPBS.

Syphilis is a common sexually transmitted infection spread through vaginal, anal or oral sex. It can also be spread from an infected mother to her unborn baby.

Though syphilis is a serious ailment, it can be cured with medication. Without treatment, however, the infection can lead to serious complications and health problems like brain damage, paralysis, and blindness.

Syphilis causes sores on the original site of infection, usually around the genitals, mouth, anus or rectum though some patients don’t notice or feel the sores.

Continues with chart and links

https://coconuts.co/bangkok/news/prevalence-of-unsafe-sex-leads-to-the-return-of-syphilis-in-thailand/

 

[PeterRS]

This is a good reason for getting a check for syphillis when you go to get your HIV test. The clinic on Silom (cant recall the name but it is across from Silom Complex and feels as though you are entering a nice club or hotel) usually tests for both.

[spoon]

Would the use of prep which leads to people not using condom a factor of increasing in other std? Maybe, but i think i read somewhere hiv case is on the rise too. I guess its the case of more and more people are having unprotected sex, either fully informed or not. 

 

[Travellerdave]

I go to the Pattaya Memorial Hospital for my HIV and syphillis tests. I’m always nervous waiting for the results, even though it’s years since I had unprotected anal sex. When I first visited Thailand 18 years ago I played Russian roulette many times, but got away with it.

[PeterRS]

2 hours ago, spoon said:

Would the use of prep which leads to people not using condom a factor of increasing in other std? Maybe, but i think i read somewhere hiv case is on the rise too.

Spoon is absolutely correct. Some people seem to feel that Prep is the magic bullet that enables unprotected sex with no risk. It certainly takes most of the risk away but only 92% according to official studies. That of course does not mean you can have unprotected sex 92 times before starting to take care. A tiny risk of HIV transmission is always there.

What Prep will not do is protect you against other STDs. You are much more likely to get syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, genital warts and a host of other nasties if you decide not to use a condom. In the USA alone 20 million are newly infected with one or more STDs each year and half of these are in the 15 - 24 year age group. 

[KevKev01]

3 hours ago, PeterRS said:

This is a good reason for getting a check for syphillis when you go to get your HIV test. The clinic on Silom (cant recall the name but it is across from Silom Complex and feels as though you are entering a nice club or hotel) usually tests for both.

I think it’s called Pulse. 

[reader]

From Bangkok Post (11 May)

Bumrungrad admits transfusion the cause in HIV case

The Thai Red Cross Society confirmed on Friday that its procedures for collecting and dispensing blood are in line with global standards, as fears of HIV/Aids being accidentally transmitted by the organisation have skyrocketed in the wake of a disclosure by a leading hospital in Bangkok.

Bumrungrad International Hospital issued a statement on Thursday claiming one of its patient had become infected with the autoimmune disease from blood given by the society, the country's top blood donor.

The Thai Red Cross said that while it followed world best practices, there is a ''window period", usually in the first several weeks, during which a donor may have contracted the disease but it is not yet detectable.

It claimed there was no technology in the world able to detect the disease at such an early stage, and urged donors to inform officials of the truth if they have engaged in any risky behavior in the weeks prior to donating

Continues at

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/1675608/hospital-in-hot-water-over-hiv-case

 

[PeterRS]

Thanks KevKev01. Yes, the clinic on Silom is called Pulse. It is run by a handsome gay doctor. The website has a ton of information on HIV and STDs in general. It appears a second clinic will be opened on Suk 13 this month.

https://www.pulse-clinic.com

[NIrishGuy]

23 hours ago, reader said:

Bumrungrad admits transfusion the cause in HIV case

.......... there is a ''window period", usually in the first several weeks, during which a donor may have contracted the disease but it is not yet detectable.

 

Which I guess does give some credit too and backs up the need for the ( in the UK anyway) three month deferral period between a gay man having sex and being allowed to donate blood. Of course it appears in this case the donor simply wasn't honest about his timeline, which of course simply backs up the complaints and prejudices of the straight community about gay men being able to donate blood at ALL - and you can see their point perhaps.

Mind you the same could of course be said for said "straight" guys who are out fucking anything that moves too including other men ( MSM) or ladyboys or just plain old women who are fucking around with (lots) of other men who are all doing the same too and THEY dont have to declare and desist for 3 months before donating - but I guess the States argument  ( again probably quite correctly) is that as gay men as we are the higher risk group that is why such rules are needed.

its a tough one, on one hand one wants to argue for equality in all things, but when there's a sound medical logic behind medical decisions I personally think the three month deferral period os probably fair enough in the bigger scheme of things - my only thought might be that perhaps they should actually go in reverse and make it apply to EVERYONE to ensure things are as safe as they can be for everyone - mind you even if they did of course all you need is the one liar / forgetful person as appeared to happen here and you're right back at square one again.

So, I guess in the absence of any solution or safer remedy the simple answer is to WEAR A CONDOM to minimise the risk to oneself ( and others should you be unlucky enough to have picked something / anything up that is still undiagnosed. 

 

 

[spoon]

I think what can actually help is a window (1month for the test to be effectivr?) not depending on the donor of when they had sex, but rather the hospital before they are allowed to use the blood. Itll take away the donor lying about their timeline issue, and i think itll be wise to test the blood again before using it. 

[TotallyOz]

I found it interesting on the Pulse site that it talked about taking PrEP in various ways. We had a discussion on boytoy recently:

https://www.boytoy.com/forums/topic/31424-adjusted-prep-plan/page/2/?tab=comments#comment-221171

Some people are angered by the fact that people suggested taking PrEP for traveling sexcations. To me, it makes a great deal of sense as opposed to daily dosage if you are not actively involved in sexual activity. But, I have not heard about this until the last few months and curious of others use this just when they travel to Thailand for vacations or if it is something they take year round.

Also, the cost of this seems very low for here 1500 per month. And, I have seen a massive rise in the number of profiles that say they are on PrEP with Thai guys.

Lastly, did I read somewhere that taking PrEP lowers risk of other STDs? I thought it was for HIV only.  So, you see, I know little about it but do see a rise in users.

[NIrishGuy]

4 hours ago, spoon said:

I think what can actually help is a window (1month for the test to be effectivr?) not depending on the donor of when they had sex, but rather the hospital before they are allowed to use the blood. Itll take away the donor lying about their timeline issue, and i think itll be wise to test the blood again before using it. 

I think the problem there is that in general it seems that blood is / can only be kept for about 6 weeks in total before it's classed as usable so I guess to store it for 4 of those 6 weeks wouldn't be a option for large stocks perhaps.

[vinapu]

1 hour ago, Michael said:

 

 And, I have seen a massive rise in the number of profiles that say they are on PrEP with Thai guys.

Lastly, did I read somewhere that taking PrEP lowers risk of other STDs? I thought it was for HIV only.  So, you see, I know little about it but do see a rise in users.

question is, it's rise in users because  they are better informed which would be good thing  or rise can be attributed  to more reckless behavior hoping PREP will replace common sense which would be not so good.

[NIrishGuy]

1 hour ago, Michael said:

Lastly, did I read somewhere that taking PrEP lowers risk of other STDs? I thought it was for HIV only.  So, you see, I know little about it but do see a rise in users.

To answer your above question and just for total clarity in case people reading this later might end up with a false sense of security - PrEP doesn’t prevent other STDs at ALL - it just just reduces the chances of picking up HIV - nothing more than that - hence it's a good idea to still always use condoms, unless you've decided that you're happy playing Russian roulette and risk picking up one or many of some of the other ( increasingly fairly serious) STI's that are out there now these days.

https://www.onemedical.com/blog/live-well/safe-sex-prep

[PeterRS]

30 minutes ago, NIrishGuy said:

I think the problem there is that in general it seems that blood is / can only be kept for about 6 weeks in total before it's classed as usable so I guess to store it for 4 of those 6 weeks wouldn't be a option for large stocks perhaps.

Another problem is that the 4 week window is not foolproof. It does work in most cases but there can be cases of false positives and false negatives. Also there are still older test kits out there which require more than a 4 week window. So the 3 month window really is vital. Gay men do not have to have unprotected sex. It is their decision. A man, woman or child undergoing invasive surgery has no choice. They must have blood.

[spoon]

PREP is a preventative measure that is recommended on top of other measures taken to orevent contracting HIV. Condom is still the most effective measures by far, if it is used properly. In the case where condom werent used properly (either breaking, or slip, or stealthing etc), PREP can be a second layer of defense. It is not meant to be use solely as HIV prevention, especially 3 person in the study who have taken the drugs still contracted HIV. And yes, it wont help with other std

[speedoo1]

4 hours ago, Michael said:

Some people are angered by the fact that people suggested taking PrEP for traveling sexcations. To me, it makes a great deal of sense as opposed to daily dosage if you are not actively involved in sexual activity. But, I have not heard about this until the last few months and curious of others use this just when they travel to Thailand for vacations or if it is something they take year round.

I follow that strategy - start taking the daily pill 5-7 days before traveling and keep taking daily pills for some days after getting back. I have also used the "on-demand" dosing some times.  And before you ask: in general with condom but without happens occasionally if we are both on PrEP.

[speedoo1]

1 hour ago, spoon said:

... especially 3 person in the study who have taken the drugs still contracted HIV. And yes, it wont help with other std

As I recall the results from the study you refer to, the 3 persons all stopped taking PrEP during the test period. None of the persons taking PrEP as prescribed got infected by HIV.

The conclusion from the various tests/studies is that PrEP is very effective protection against HIV regardless of which of the 4 dosing methods used -  but only if you remember to take the pill. It will not protect against other STI 

[spoon]

The 3 people still have the drug deteced in their system when they were tested positive. Of course there is some issues regarding their intake whether it is as prescribed or not since the subject records stuff themselves. And the drug can still be detected two weeks after u stop taking it. I thi k for that reason, they recommend to take the drug atleast 7 days daily before claiming it to be effective. Eitherway, it is still not foolproof. 

[daydreamer]

7 hours ago, spoon said:

I think what can actually help is a window (1month for the test to be effectivr?) not depending on the donor of when they had sex, but rather the hospital before they are allowed to use the blood. Itll take away the donor lying about their timeline issue, and i think itll be wise to test the blood again before using it. 

 

I don't understand how holding onto blood for one month would help in this case. If that were to be, wouldn't the blood donor also have to be retested one month after donating the blood, and those results cross checked with the re-tested blood donated one month previous?  

I think the disease is more likely to progress and be detectable in the infected donor's body in a one month period, than in a bag of refrigerated blood during that same one month period.

[t0oL1]

Maybe actually getting an STD will serve as a warning and they will be safe in the future, preventing contracting HIV.

But HIV cases may rise also because of the current popularity of unsafe casual sex.

[PeterRS]

9 hours ago, speedoo1 said:

 before you ask: in general with condom but without happens occasionally if we are both on PrEP.

Just out of curiosity. You are taking Prep and that cute guy you are with says he is also on Prep. How would you know he is telling th truth?

[spoon]

24 minutes ago, PeterRS said:

Just out of curiosity. You are taking Prep and that cute guy you are with says he is also on Prep. How would you know he is telling th truth?

Yup, u dont know. The same way u wouldnt know if hiv positive guys says he got test and negative. Without showing the result, or actually go get tested together (as results can be faked too) u wont know. Similar case with the study too. For me, the only way to really ensure unprotected sex is safe is for both partner to get tested after window period and confirmed free from all stds, and from then on in a monogomous relationship. As long as you and your partner have multiple sexual partner, stick with condoms

[speedoo1]

18 hours ago, PeterRS said:

Just out of curiosity. You are taking Prep and that cute guy you are with says he is also on Prep. How would you know he is telling th truth?

True, I wouldn't know. But as I take PrEP it wouldn't be the end of the day if he is lying. Even if HIV infected the risk of me getting infected to is close to zero when I take PrEP as prescribed; much more dangerous to move around in the traffic. I dont stop flying just because there is a risk of the aircraft crashing

[spoon]

Yes, avoiding flying is very similar to avoiding wearing condom ...........