The Center for Disease sway and Pr...

The Center for Disease sway and Prevention has released a report upon lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV). The report is available online at http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5342a2.htm.

LGV is a systemic, sexually transmitted disease (STD) caused by way of a variety of the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis that rarely come to passs in the United States and other industrialized countries; the prevalence of LGV is greatest in Africa, Southeast Asia, Central and toward the south America, and Caribbean countries. However, in the Netherlands, which typically has fewer than five cases a year, as of September 2004 a total of 92 cases of LGV had been confirmed during the preceding 17 month among men who have sex with men (MSM) An alert was sent to the Early Warning and Reporting hypothesis of the European Union and to the European Surveillance of Sexually Transmitted Infections Network.

In April 2004 a report was made to the CDC and state and local health departments were alerted. Of the 92 cases confirmed in the Netherlands, 30 occurr during 2003 and 62 during 2004 about of these patients reported having multiple sex partners in cities in Europe and the United States. Limited information has been reported regarding LGV transaction outside the Netherlands. However, physicians should be vigilant for LGV especially among MSM expos to individuals from Europe, and be prepared to diagnose the disease and provide appropriate treatment to patients and their expos sex partners (see accompanying box)

late reports from Belgium, France, and Sweden confirm that LGV is occurring elsewhere in Europe In July 2004 the CDC identified an L2 LGV strain upon a rectal swab specimen from a patient in the United States who had signs and symptoms similar to those of the patients in the Netherlands. In this case, no known front to European MSM was reported; U contacts of the patient were evaluated and treated.

COPYRIGHT 2005 American Academy of Family Physicians

COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group