Do Reports on Staph Unfairly Stigmatize Gay Men?

Anyone can contract a staph infection. The antibiotic-thwarting bacteria can enter the skin through casual contact with other people or inhuman objects such as gym equipment, towels, and practically any other public (and frequently) groped object. Any person that comes in contact with MRSA (staph) are at risk of contracting the bacteria. So, with such an easy mode of transfer, why are gay men the focus of high energy medical alerts?

A previously reported study by epidemiologist Binh An Diep of University of California, San Francisco states that gay men in San Francisco are 13 times more likely to be infected with a new more potent strain of the multidrug-resistant Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus (MRSA). Since the paper's publish date, news wires have been flooded with warnings that gay men are more likely to carry a new, more potent and potentially deadly strain of staph.
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Read: Gays More Likely To Contract New "Super" Staph Infection
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Diep claims he didn't intend to create alarm and was "worried about the fact that this could be taken to mean that this is another gay man plague." Unfortunately, as with HIV decades ago, the damage of mis perception has already been done.

If you recall, it took decades to dispel misconceptions that AIDS originated with gay men. In the 80s, HIV/AIDS was considered a "gay cancer," until reports eventually traced the virus back to chimps in Africa (read: Gays Not The Origin of HIV). Yet still, it's arguable that the general population still considers HIV a gay affliction. And now, Diep's report feeds into the mis perception that gay men are responsible for staph. Is Diep's study another gay finger point?

Studies in major cities do report that gay men are at higher risk of transfer. However, many of these studies, like Diep's, were conducted in areas with high gay populations—which may have led to the disproportionate number of gay men with a super strain staph. Reports linking gay men with staph fail to mention exactly why gay men are at higher risk, nor do they emphasize the risk of heterosexual contraction.

Gay Life reader Tony notes that "gay men [are hit] hard first due to the incidence of HIV and related use of antibiotics. Keeping in mind that in some areas promiscuity among the gay population is higher than in others (and the Castro in SF is definitely one of them) and the fact that all the areas hit highest happen to have high concentrations of gay men in certain neighborhoods."

But will the general public be able to isolate gay men at lower risk such as those HIV negative and less promiscuous, or will society (once again) lump us all into one category of risk?

How do you feel about the new reports associating a super-strain of staph with gay men?
Here's what other readers have to say:

• "Of course some fools will blame gay men for it as usual, even though the real cause is abuse and missuses of antibiotics by the medical community. The key is to see how the health authorities in the government react. If they recognize that this isn't a specifically gay issue, and so are prompted to do something to prevent it's further spread, or if they will dismiss it as a gay issue and do nothing, as they did for years with AIDS." -Tony


• "I'm not really a conspiracy type but this does make me suspecious. What is it, 10 men, 50, 100 - what's the number that makes it a national story? And on what are they basing that '13 times more likely' statement?" -Scott


• "When I first read this article on a news web site, it really burned me up. This had better not become the next 'gay disease. Several months ago, MRSA was in the news because it was being found in high schools across the country, but no one ever characterized it as a 'teenage' disease. In Bedford County, Virginia, 22 schools were closed for sanitation. There were also cases reported in Connecticut, Maryland, Ohio, and Michigan. One observation, though not proven, is that it most commonly affects student athletes. No doubt this is because of the unsanitary conditions in the bathrooms and locker rooms. It's not a big leap to see how a public gym would have the same problems." -ClosetCase

More on Staph:
Tips for Avoiding Germs at the Gym
Podcast: Key Fact About MRSA

_{Image © The Massachusetts Department of Public Health}