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States needing assistance or infor–
mation on the nearest sources of
medical advice can send a self–
addressed envelope with their
request to HELP, Box 100, Palo
Alto, California, 94302 . Phone:
(415) 328-771
O.
Persons in foreign
areas needing help should contact
their nearest health agency.
Othe r New STO Threat s
Three other newly recognized
threats to infected persons and
infants also need to be mentioned.
Two of these disease organisms
are somewhat controversial, not
because there is any doubt about
their devastating effects on the
newborn, but because evidence for
venereal transmission is less certain
than for other STDs. Whatever the
mode of transmission, half of
infants who develop severe early–
onset infections die, and survivors
face blindness, deafness, mental
retardation or cerebral palsy.
Another large cause of urethritis,
in addition to chlamydia, implicates
bacteria that act differently from
other bacteria but aren't viruses
either. These little understood
organisms go by the technical name
of
T-strain mycoplasma
(also called
ureaplasma). T-strains are known to
be sexually transmitted. Unfortu–
nately, most doctors' offices are not
set up todo screening tests for either
chlamydia or T-strains.
Supe r-Gonor rhea Worr y
T he first totally penicillin-resistant
strain of gonorrhea was discovered
in the United States in early 1976.
Since then , promiscuous sexual
behavior has spread it to all regions
of the nation.
Health officials around the world
are becoming worried as more and
more strains of gonorrhea become
resistant to all but the most
powerful and expensive antibiotics.
"All our steel-capped bullets are
turning into rubber," laments one
health official.
Medica! officials face a serious
dilemma in treating the effects
rather than the causes. On ·one
hand there is increasing demand
for treatment of serious STDs. On
the other, recession and inflation
have squeezed and cut health
department budgets.
Penicillin-resistant gonorrhea
18
not only is overwhelming heaÜh
officials' first line of defense drug
(penicillin costs about $ 1 to $2 a
dose), but it is also overwhelming
the second line of defense drug,
spectinomycin (around $5 a dose).
In such cases health officials are
forced to rely on even more
powerful and expensive antibiotics
such as cefoxitin ($8 a dose).
Another disturbing finding am–
plifies man's futility in trying to
control STD epidemics by treating
the effects and not the causes.
lt
was thought that most males with a
gonorrhea infection manifested ear–
ly symptoms so tbey would seek
treatment. Many new studies, how–
e.ver, show that between 15 to as
much as 50 percent or even more of
males infected with gonorrhea are
asymptomatic-that is, they do not
manifest early symptoms but are
spreading the disease.
It has been early symptoms in
males who seek treatment that has
been the principal way health offi–
cíals trace and treat their female
partners-80 percent of whom
commonly do not show early infec–
tious gonorrhea symptoms.
The folly and danger of promis–
cuous and careless sex are far
greater than anyone ever imagined.
Many individuals have kidded
themselves that their sexual activi–
ty doesn't fit the promiscuous
mold. They try to redefine promis–
cuity to make themselves feel bet–
ter for not being truly monogamous
or faithful. They feel they are not
promiscuous because they are not
having indiscriminate sex with
many partners, but only sex with
one or two "special" partners.
Health officials, however, report
many boys and girls, and men and
women, pick up their STO infec–
tions after sexual relations with one
of these "special" partners. ln most
cases, the infection was picked up
because one of these partners had
picked up an STO infection some–
where e-lse at sorne other time.
Syphilis Too
Another trend disturbing health
officials is the 30 percent increase
in reported cases of primary and
secondary syphilis between 1977
and 1980 in the United States. Also
worrying scientists are develop–
ments indicating that the syphilis
spirochete (spy-ro-keet) may also
be in the process of developing
immunity to penicillin and other
antibiotics. So far it hasn't hap–
pened. But researchers note
changes in the syphilis organism
that oould produce this effect.
Untreated , syphilis can cause
nerve, brain or heart damage, or
bl indness or a host of other serious
health problems-including horri–
ble birth defects in babies of
infected mothers.
Spiraling Homosexu al STDs
A soaring STO crisis is occurring
among homosexuals, especially in
urban areas with large homosexual
populations, such as San Francisco,
California. Selma Dritz, of the San
Francisco Department of Health,
said: "With the relaxation of tradi–
tional moral restraints and the
emergence of more permissive
modes of social and sexual ínter–
play in · the past 1
O
years, sorne
major cities have acquired large,
highly visible homosexual commu–
nities. The frequent practices of
oral and anal intercourse has been
accompanied by reports of rapidly
increasing incidence of venereal
diseases, venereal herpes, and
enteric [intestinal] diseases."
Whenever an STD or other com–
municable disease is introduced
into a promiscuous group it pro–
liferates like wildfire. British and
American doctors report the seri–
ous viral diseases hepatitis A and B,
which cause jaundice and liver fai l–
ure, are increasing rapidly among
homosexuals. Sorne health authori–
ties estímate syphilis and hepatitis
are 10 or more times more frequent
among homosexuals than among
beterosexuals because of the nature
of homosexual practices.
Pro tect Yourself
Sorne who have been indiscrimi–
nate in their sexual lives may have
picked up a serious STD infection
that now lies inactive or unnoticed:
that infection can rekindle and
infect a faithful mate or innocent
children!
Do you think God is ignorant
about all this? To the contrary,
God is going to respond-and soon–
er than many realize! The Creator,
for now, is letting human beings,
(Continued on page
42)
The PLAIN TRUTH