SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A drug-resistant strain of potentially deadly bacteria has moved beyond the borders of U.S. hospitals and is being transmitted among gay men during sex, researchers said on Monday.
They said methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, is beginning to appear outside hospitals in San Francisco, Boston, New York and Los Angeles.
Sexually active gay men in San Francisco are 13 times more likely to be infected than their heterosexual neighbors, the researchers reported in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
The best way to avoid infection is by washing the hands or genitals with soap and water, Diep said.
I would argue that Diep is wrong and the best way to avoid infection is by not having gay sex.
You can read more here.
Some questions:
-Why do you think this is affecting gay men moreso than any other demographic in America?
-Why do you think AIDS affected/affects gay men moreso than any other demographic in America?
-Does God still exact judgment or was that just in Biblical times?
-If you are gay, what are your thoughts on this?
9 comments:
I know it is almost treasonous to even think about AIDS as some sort of divine retribution, but all emotionalism aside, is it fair to apply Romans 1:27 to things such as these?
I understand that Paul's context deals with the penalty of unbelief, no?
While I don't suggest that the Apostle is prophesying the AIDS epidemic, is it sloppy to apply what he wrote to this particular disease?
"I would argue that Diep is wrong and the best way to avoid infection is by not having gay sex."
You make it sound so simple.
Laz,
I'm hesitant to try to decern God's ways, but what you've laid out here makes sense to me. I suppose we should just trust God to be just.
Laz, to answer your question with a question, was it "sloppy" for the gospel writer to apply the OT passage concerning the "young woman" giving birth (that was fulfilled in the OT) to the "virgin birth" of Christ?
Isaiah 7.14
I don't think it is, but then again, we are not inspired agents of God that have been set apart for the task of penning scripture.
j razz
I would argue that Diep is wrong and the best way to avoid infection is by not having gay sex.
I can grant you a partial-point for the localized area where there is a large gay community, but the truly best way to stop the spread of MRSA is through hand washing, period. Many more people have contracted either strain of this terrible infection that do not engage in gay sex than those that do.
My wife and I had a discussion concerning this bacterial infection last night as she is an RN and says that is common in the hospital in newborns, and all types of patients, but yes, I was referring to the context in which the argument was placed- the homosexual arena.
13 to 1 odds is a pretty big ratio and to lower those odds down to the level that heterosexual people populate, gay sex would need to be eliminated from the equation. That was my point in the statement above.
j razz
My wife and I have had a similar conversation on MRSA as well - she works at a local hospital and gets involved anytime there's an "outbreak." While it would definitely not be as widespread as it is if the infected patients were not engaging in gay sex, the fact of the matter is it never would have gotten that far had they washed their hands.
I do agree with you that stopping sex would be a great way to prevent it's spread, I just don't agree that it's the best way.
Slight tangent: there was a small staph outbreak at her hospital just before Thanksgiving (though it was feared to be MRSA, it was not). The person the CDC traced as the source was an ER nurse who, admittedly, failed to wash her hands properly. Go forth and body shiver...
My wife now is a Physician Extender but when she used to work on the floor, she would tell me some stories... body shiver in progress... that were just plain careless and gross.
A note to nurses: if you do not like caring for people, please get out of that type of nursing and move to a different field- you are not doing any favors by staying there!
j razz
Is that along the same lines as an elementary school teacher who doesn't like kids?
I would say yes. :)
j razz
Post a Comment