Editor's note: "Black News" would like to welcome back its writers who for the past 6-months have been under death threats by officials in Chattanooga over freedom of speech issues.
Sleeping With Some Black Men Can Be Hazardous To Your Health
By Sinclere Lee
ATLANTA (BNW — It’s embarrassing to be associated with a race that can’t control its sexual behavior, and as a result, if you're not celibate like me, you may end up catching the heebie-jeebies. There're reports of syphilis contractions being on the rise among Blacks. Moreover, according to a new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Black men are bringing syphilis back to the Black community.
In their report released last week, CDC says that there has been a 39 percent increase in the amount of people who contracted the disease from 2006 to 2009, with most new cases appearing in young Black men. Ergo, sleeping with some Black men can be hazardous to your health
"The majority of the increase is among men who have sex with men," says Charlotte Kent, acting director of the CDC's division of STD prevention. Black gay men have brought sexual destruction on the Black community; yet, they want to be accepted with their vile and nasty behavior.
"We really need to promote screening and treatment among these young men," Kent says. "Clearly discrimination and homophobia can act as barriers to health care seeking and availability, and that does add to some of the challenges of developing effective intervention."
The CDC indicates that poor access to health care is a major contributor to the trend. However, if Black men used protection when having sex with each other, they can save the Black community of the embarrassment of their freakiest way of life.
While the disease was on the verge of elimination a short time ago, the agency says it will have to redouble its efforts if it hopes to eliminate it now. In order to do so, the CDC will partner with gay and bisexual health organizations.
U.S. chlamydia and syphilis rates continued to rise in 2009, but the gonorrhea rate reached its lowest level in almost 70 years, according to the CDC's annual sexually transmitted infection report. CDC noted that "large disparities" remain in the rates across races and age groups, adding, "Some racial/ethnic minority groups have much higher rates than whites," with young Blacks "particularly hard-hit."
Although chlamydia, syphilis and gonorrhea account for less than 10% of the country's 19 million STI cases, they are the only ones that physicians are required to report to CDC. All three can be treated with antibiotics but can have serious consequences, including infertility and organ damage, if left untreated. Herpes and the human papillomavirus account for most of the remaining SDTs in the U.S.
Charlotte Kent, CDC's acting director of Sexually Transmitted Disease Prevention, said the federal health reform law (PL 111-148) should improve access to screening and treatment. Screenings are part of a preventive services provision of the law that provides access to testing without copayments.
Gonorrhea (aka the claps) is on the decline. For example, reported gonorrhea cases last year fell to about 111 cases per 100,000 people, a 10.5% decrease from 2008 and the third consecutive annual decline, the CDC report said. However, the rate among female blacks ages 15 through 19 was 2,613.8 cases per 100,000 people. In total, 71% of gonorrhea cases occurred in Blacks.
Chlamydia rates increased by 3% last year and by nearly 20% since 2006. The 2009 rate of 409.2 cases per 100,000 people represents an all-time high for reported chlamydia infections. However, CDC noted that "[t]his is actually good news" because "the increase is likely due to expanding screening and not an increase in disease."
The rate of gonorrhea in the United States is at an all-time low, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday, but the rates for chlamydia and syphilis continue to rise. The three sexually transmitted diseases, or STDs, together account for about 1.5 million cases annually, less than 10% of the country's estimated 19 million cases. But they are the only ones that must be reported to CDC by doctors because they have such potentially serious consequences.
Herpes and human papillomavirus account for the bulk of the remaining STD infections.
All three are bacterial diseases that can be readily treated with antibiotics. Left untreated, however, they can have serious consequences. Gonorrhea and chlamydia can produce pelvic inflammatory disease in women, which can cause infertility. Each year, about 24,000 U.S. women become infertile as a result. Syphilis can cause brain, cardiovascular and organ damage. In pregnant women, it can cause congenital syphilis, which can cause stillbirth, death soon after birth and physical deformities and neurological complications in children who survive. Untreated, it causes infant death in as many as 40% of infants. Lack of treatment of the infections also appears to increase the risk of contracting HIV.