There is an interesting sad article today on Reuters regarding MRSA and its spread among gay men during sex: http://www.reuters.com/article…

This really has me steaming a bit….. yet another demonizing of gay sex, and once again to scare the population and have them view gay sex as dangerous to the masses. (Reminds me of GRIT-speak from the 80’s.)

MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant Staph Aureus) and VRE (Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus) are two products that came from hospitals and healthcare providers abusing the use of antibiotics combined with the general evolution of the germs themselves.

Frankly, we used to see these two on occasion in the hospital settings only…. and to be very honest, the hospitals were not doing all they could to keep them at bay. They were not screening incoming patients (as many are now doing today) and they were not offering an assurance that patients who were discharged (even those who had stayed in the same units or even same rooms with those infected) were also not screened before leaving.

The result? — MRSA and VRE are now being seen everywhere in the community and is no longer confined to the hospital and healthcare facility walls. MRSA is especially common and found especially among children. The fact is that we have known this was going to enter into mainstream communities for quite some time, and because of politics, lack of funding and disinterest, it has gone largely ignored until now.

Could this be spread through gay sex? Yes of course, but it could be spread through straight sex just as well. Given that our community may be a bit more amorous, yes, we should made aware of the concern for spreading it, but to send out this article in this way does not serve anyone. All this irresponsibly written article does is demonize the gay community in the eyes of the conservatives and the religious right wing. It gives them more fodder for their attacks and it will most certainly put the gay community on the offensive.

A different approach would have served everyone while still reporting the findings. For example, the physician is quoted with words like “possible” and “probable”, yet the information is being reported as some new fact that has been recently confirmed.

If we all want to curb the spread of MRSA and other opportunistic infections, and given how widespread this truly is, it would make more sense to report truthfully that all people can be involved, it could sever as a “warning” to the gay community in the interest of their health instead of being presented as it currently reads ….’we have the gay community to thank for the spread of MRSA’… whether that was the intention of the author or not, it certainly comes across this way to the general reader.

I also do not understand why the medical community has not come forward to admit that they allowed this to spread into the general population and I also cannot see why a home testing kit has not been made available. It should be made and marketed to the general population with special emphasis on high risk groups which include immuno-compromised individuals, the elderly and children. This would be a positive step toward erradication and much more productive than pointing undeserved and incorrect blame at one particular group.