Scanner : sexually transmitted diseases

German Pop Star Arrested for Spreading a Little HIV With Her Message

Emily Farris — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 18:51:00 GMT

A member of one of the most famous girl bands in Germany has been arrested on suspicion that she knowingly spread HIV to at least one man.

Nadja Benaissa (pictured second from the left), a member of the band No Angels, is accused of sleeping with at least three men, sans condom, full-well knowing she was HIV positive. At least one of those three men has tested positive for HIV, supposedly as a result of sleeping with Benajssa over a period of a few weeks in 2004.

Benajssa was arrested at a nightclub on Saturday night where she was set to give a solo concert and is now being held in a one-person cell in a women's prison.

Under German law, knowingly infecting another person with HIV qualifies as "grievous bodily harm" and can result in six months to ten years in prison. However, if Benaissa can prove she did not know she was HIV positive, the infection will not be considered a crime.

The organization German AIDS Help believes that the way in which her status was made public was unacceptable. "This case fits fantastically into the tabloid and media landscape," said Jörg Litinschuh, spokesman for DAH. "It centres on a famous woman, sexuality and possible guilt. It's a form of modern witch-hunting and I hope it's not an indication that the politics of dealing with HIV and Aids is becoming more restrictive."

Yes, but remember kids: no matter what that boy or girl says (and no matter how famous he or she is), you need to see those STD test results before the condom comes off.

[Guardian: German singer in jail after ex-lover claims she infected him with HIV]

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Prevent HPV With...You Know What

Emily Farris — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 22:51:00 GMT

Ugh. The human papillomavirus. You probably know it as HPV and also as that annoying virus that you have or probably will contract at some point in your sexually active life.

More than 100 strains of the virus have been identified and 30 to 40 are constantly being passed around the sexually active population in the United States. If you've had lots of sex with lots of partners, it's quite possible you have, at one time or another, contracted at least one strain of HPV. The virus can and often does leave your body, but some forms stick around and cause warts and others can lead to cancer—most notably cervical cancer in women.

Unfortunately, condoms can't always protect against it and while little is known about the risk factors associated with HPV in men, a new study purports that there is one way to decrease a man's chances of contracting HPV.

Circumcision.

To investigate, they followed 285 men for about 18 months, testing for HPV every 6 months. Overall, 29 percent of the men became infected with the virus over 1 year; 19 percent acquired an HPV strain linked to cancer.

Men who said they'd had more than 16 sex partners had about three times the HPV risk of those with fewer sex partners. They were also nearly 10 times more likely to contract a potentially cancer-causing strain.

When it came to HPV clearance, circumcision appeared beneficial, the researchers found.

Circumcised men were three times more likely to clear any type of HPV infection by the end of the follow-up period and six times more likely to clear a cancer-linked HPV strain.

The reasons for these findings are not clear, according to Giuliano and her colleagues. It's possible, they suggest, that circumcised men are less likely to get skin abrasions during sex, which might mean that fewer HPV particles enter their bodies.

However, the article does not state how many of the men were wearing condoms, if any. Our limited medical expertise leads us to believe that if there's a condom involved, it wouldn't really matter if the man was circumcised or not. But what do we know? (Not much).

[FOXNews: Study: Circumcision May Protect Men From HPV]

Related:

Are Too Few Baby Boys Being Circumcised?

Reversing That Circumcision Even Scarier Than You Thought

You're Circumcised? Well, That Explains It...

BBC Wants You to Know You'll All Get Sex Cancers

Brian Fairbanks — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 16:27:00 GMT

Sex cancers are going to get you! Sex cancers are going to get you!

Can you tell it's a slow news day all over the world, especially at the BBC?

According to their intrepid reporter and staggering research power, the British Broadcasting Corporation has revealed that all that sex and drugs and rock 'n roll you baby boomers enjoy so much has led to cancers of your genitalia:

Rates of anal, vulval and vaginal cancers rose for "baby boomers" born in the decades after the Second World War.

The culprit is the human papillomavirus (HPV), acquired during sex, said the King's College London study.

Up to three out of four people will be infected, it estimates. The British Journal of Cancer report says changes in sexual habits may be the cause.

HPV has been implicated in a number of cancers, including cervical, anal, vulval, vaginal and penile - although the diseases can be caused by other factors too.

We had to check this story's publication date to make sure, but we can confirm that the BBC has discovered the existence of HPV... after the entire state of Texas. Now, that's news...

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Who's Got the Syph? We've Got the Syph! (Yeeeeah, We Got It!)

Emily Farris — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 20:04:00 GMT

Reported cases of sexually transmitted diseases—namely, syphilis and chlamydia—are on the rise.

According to a 2007 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report, updated earlier this month, chlamydia infections rose to 1.1 million in the United States, and rates of syphilis have been rising for seven years.

Believe it or not, this could actually be good news.

Some believe that numbers are are growing not because more people are becoming infected, but because more people are being screened and tested. If that is the case, hopefully the numbers will begin to drop off when those testing positive can treat their STDs and prevent their spread.

[Daily Toreador: Rise in syphilis, clamydia rates concern health officials]

Reason #8,847 Not To Sleep With A Bali Hooker...

"I had bedbugs, you had herpes."

Time to Talk to Grandma and Grandpa About the Birds and the Bees

Michigan Backs Teen Pregnancy and the Spread of STDs with $1.4M Grant

Emily Farris — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 16:41:00 GMT

Michigan, Michigan, Michigan. What the hell is up? You went blue in the election (of course Missouri went red while electing a Democratic governor, so what does that really tell us?). You're pretty cool with Detroit and all. But what the fuck is up with the Michigan Department of Community Health giving out $1.4 million dollars in grants to fund abstinence-only education? Don't you have, like, homeless people to feed? Or school music programs to keep alive? Do you know how many condoms you could buy with that money? Oh, right. Silly us. Who needs condoms when you will be totally successful in keeping kids from having sex before marriage?

"The grant programs are directed at youth ages 12-18 and parents of youth in that age group. Of the money, $875,000 will go to community groups and organizations, while an additional $542,000 will fund technical staffing and an abstinence-only public awareness campaign. Michigan spends $700,000 a year on other sexual health education programs.

“The Michigan Abstinence Program is geared to promote abstinence from sexual activity and other related risky behaviors,” said MDCH Director Janet Olszewski in a press release. “This funding will further help our communities and the abstinence program guide our youth away from risky activity.”

The problem, activists say, is abstinence-only education doesn’t work. According to numerous studies, abstinence only, which is an education model that teaches young people to abstain from sexual behavior, but not how to prevent sexual transmitted infections or unwanted pregnancies, does not work."

Where have we heard that before?

Oh, when we learned that abstinence-only education doesn't work. Or, if you didn't hear, abstinence-only education doesn't work. Hey, did you hear the one about abstinence-only education and how it doesn't work?

We'll see you at Planned Parenthood, young ladies of Michigan!

[Michigan Messenger: Michigan gives out $1.4 million in abstinence-only education grants]

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Cure For AIDS Discovered? Or Is It HIV?

Brian Fairbanks — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:25:00 GMT

As Scanner Emily reported earlier, hemotologists in Berlin claim that a bone marrow transplant has cured an American patient of theirs of the AIDS virus. Or is it HIV? These things can be so confusing to the media, which hasn't given a shit about this issue since The Ryan White Story...

An American man who suffered from AIDS appears to have been cured of the disease 20 months after receiving a targeted bone marrow transplant normally used to fight leukemia, his doctors said.
While researchers — and the doctors themselves — caution that the case might be no more than a fluke, others say it may inspire a greater interest in gene therapy to fight the disease that claims 2 million lives each year. The virus has infected 33 million people worldwide.

Dr. Gero Huetter said Wedneday his 42-year-old patient, an American living in Berlin who was not identified, had been infected with the AIDS virus for more than a decade. But 20 months after undergoing a transplant of genetically selected bone marrow, he no longer shows signs of carrying the virus. [Yahoo! Health]

That's according to the AP. But the BBC has a different story, the one Emily reported on:

The researchers in Berlin said the man, who suffered from leukaemia and HIV, had shown no sign of either disease since the transplant two years ago.
But they stressed it was an unusual case which needed further investigation.
Experts said the result may boost interest in gene therapy for HIV.
Berlin's Charite clinic said the 42-year-old patient was an American living in Berlin, but the man has not been identified.

Either way, we're trying to stay positive (hey, at least it cured one person, whether or not anyone else is ever cured) although, yes, it could be a fluke... or a glitch in their readings... or poor research. Or some other answer that would automatically discount their findings.

But we're hoping that the 42-year-old patient goes on to live a long life... and that millions of other people are able to as well. What do you think?

This Week In Gayness: Gay Leader Assassinated

While You Were Sleeping...

Priest, During Confession: "Hey, You Wanna Go Back To My Place?"

Brian Fairbanks — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 19:36:00 GMT

A priest in Queens is being sued by a woman he picked up while she was confessing... in his confession booth.

If you think that's choice, wait'll you hear what he did that made her decide to sue his dumb ass...

According to CBS TV in New York, Reverend Elvis (seriously) Elan was preachin' and consolin' at the Our Lady of the Snows Church in Glen Oaks, which is in the borough of Queens, when a woman going through a painful divorce took confession with him.

Laufer says his client, Judith Rodriguez-Lytwyn was vulnerable when she walked into the confessional where Elano allegedly told her, "Your presence struck me like a thunderbolt."

He was so thunderstruck, it seemed, they began having sex and even seeing each other for dinner before the sex. The outrage! Seriously, that's how his flock sees it:

"I can't believe it. You know it knocks me for a loop," said Dan Torpey, one of the church's parishioners. Added parishioner Viola Czajkowski: "I don't see how a priest who took vows could possibly do something like this and have mass every day while this was going on."

Right, but how surprised would you be if Judith turned out to be Jeremy, a seven-year-old choir boy? And, what, this guy should control his sexual urges, as promised? We thought as much. Meanwhile, Rev. Elvis and Judy dated for several months... until...

...her lover sent an e-mail indicating the presence of a sexually transmitted disease he may have gotten from another woman.

Whoops. Reverend Elvis, The Ladykillin' Priest. The rights have probably been snatched up already, with Ron Howard to direct. It'll do 40 mil opening weekend...

Read the rest here. (P.S. Is anyone surprised that the Catholic Church transfered but did not discipline this creep?)

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Reason #8,847 Not To Sleep With A Bali Hooker...

Brian Fairbanks — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 20:03:00 GMT

This is one of the most bizarre family custody cases we've ever heard about.

It involves a man, a hooker, a mom, a five-year-old girl, a series of judges, one STD... and, hopefully, a happy ending... no pun intended...

According to Strollerderby, this is the story of:

1) Man in Australia gets married, his wife has a five-year-old daughter. Daughter contracts an unnamed STD.

2) Wife leaves man, saying he cheated on her and gave the daughter the STD. But how did he give the daughter the STD?

3) Man tells judge: "Hey Judge, it was nothing more than this ol' pro I rented out on vacation in Bali." Judge says: "Suck it, I'm taking your daughter away." (Actual transcripts unavailable.)

4) Man tells appellate court judge, "Dude, I was serious about that ol' pro thing. I think I gave the undisclosed STD to my daughter via a towel we shared one day." Judge: "Yep, that sounds about right" and gives the man custody again.

5) The internets throw a shitfit:

That a judge would put a child back in the home of a suspected molester without being 100 percent certain is creepy enough. But so is the fact that a number of STDs could easily be passed to a child - even, according to reputable health sources, by a shared towel.

Innocent until proven guilty, people. Of course, the guy deserves at least some punishment for cheating with a hooker in a foreign country while he had a wife and family back home-- when are people going to realize that cheating has major consequences for those around them?

Via Strollerderby.

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HIV Outbreaks Started Much Earlier Than Previously Thought

Brian Fairbanks — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 15:02:00 GMT

If you thought AIDS was caused by gay men having sex in the 1980s, perhaps you need to read this startling new story from Nature.

And if you thought HIV came about in the 20th century, you might want to read this as well...

According to a version of the story published on HealthDay News (via Yahoo), it was the rise of urban centers around Africa's west-central region that saw the first cases of HIV outbreaks, sometime between 1884 and 1924. Scientists previously pinpointed 1930 as the year those outbreaks began in the sub-Saharan areas.

Michael Worobey, an assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Arizona in Tucson, said in a university news release... "[F]or the first time, we have been able to compare two relatively ancient HIV strains. That helped us to calibrate how quickly the virus evolved and make some really robust inferences about when it crossed into humans, how quickly the epidemic grew from that time and what factors allowed the virus to enter and become a successful human pathogen."

HIV-1, one of the two species of the virus, is widely believed to have been transferred from primates to humans at the start of the outbreaks.

Via Yahoo.

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HPV: One Way or Another, It's Gonna Find You, It's Gonna Getcha, Getcha, Getcha, Getcha

Emily Farris — Tue, 13 May 2008 21:11:00 GMT

Today in news that will probably make men never want to go down on women ever again, ever: HPV (human papillomavirus) can not only cause cervical cancer, it can cause oral cancer.

HPV — many strains of which are known to cause cervical cancer in women — is now being linked to oral cancer in men. According to the New York Times, "A clinical trial testing therapies for advanced tongue and tonsil cancers has found that more than 40 percent of the tumors in men were infected with HPV."

But there is good news.

The HPV-related tumors were the easiest to treat and responded best to treatments. But we guess the good news would really have something to do with not getting an STD in your mouth, huh?

[New York Times: Oral Cancer in Men Associated With HPV]

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Sloppy Seconds: Julianne Moore Calls Eliot Spitzer "A F*cking Embarrassment"

Emily Farris — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 21:27:00 GMT

Actress Julianne Moore is pissed about soon-to-be-former governor Eliot Spitzer's sex scandal, calling it "a fucking embarrassment." We wonder how much she donated to his campaign. We didn't donate any time or money to Eliot, so we're a little underwhelmed by the whole thing.

Holy shit. A recent study has found that one in four teenage girls has a sexual infection. This makes us feel either really old or really naive.

Ladies, just in case you were wondering where all the single guys are, here's a map with ratios of single women to single men... further evidence that if we don't want to turn into a Sex and the City character or a bag lady, we need to get the hell out of New York City.

Once your character dies on LOST, there's not much to do but move on to another career until everybody forgets that you're Charlie, from Drive Shaft.

Some crazy guys are trying to save Neverland Ranch before Michael Jackson's face implodes. Well, they're at least trying to save Neverland Ranch.

You've Got Herpes!

Emily Farris — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 18:49:00 GMT

So, you slept with some guy and thought you were totally clean. A week later you tested positive for Herpes...

Did you give it to him? Did he give it to you? Avoid the awkward conversation and just send him, and everyone else you've slept with, an anonymous e-card letting them know they should probably get tested.

Also, you get to choose which super-cute and clever e-card to send... which will totally ease the blow.

[InSpot.org via Jezebel]