Syphilis increasing among New York homosexuals

ATLANTA - The government said Thursday an increase in syphilis infections among homosexual and bisexual men in New York and elsewhere indicates they may be letting their guard down against sexually transmitted diseases. <br> <br> The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said syphilis infections more than doubled in New York City last year, mostly among homosexual and bisexual men. <br> <br> The agency said the increase suggests the men may be abandoning safe sex practices because life-extending AIDS-treatment drugs are more widely available. The transmission of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, is enhanced by sexually transmitted diseases. <br> <br> New York had 282 cases of syphilis in 2001, up from 117 in 2000, according to city health officials. Ninety-three percent of those cases were among men; of those, 79 percent reported having male sexual partners. <br> <br> The CDC said outbreaks of syphilis among gay men also have been recorded in Seattle, Chicago, San Francisco and Miami since 1997. <br> <br> The increase in syphilis cases in New York follows record lows recorded in 2000.

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