Syphilis and Craigslist

[Health Nurse]

Hi everyone

I certainly don’t want to spread any panic, but I just wanted to let everyone know that we have had two recent cases of syphilis from men who found their partners on the Vancouver erotic section of Craigslist.

Just a reminder that syphilis is completely curable, but if left untreated can damage certain parts of the body e.g. brain, heart, eye’s etc.. Syphilis is particularly dangerous if the woman is pregnant. In BC last year we had a baby die from syphilis.

Any doctors office can do a test for syphilis (a simple blood test), but if you are concerned about talking to your family doctor you can always come to one of our clinics where you do not need ID or health insurance.

Here is a link to our main clinic.
http://www.stdresource.com/clinics/index.php

The most common signs for syphilis are a sore and possible rashes. It is more common for people not to have symptoms and the only way we have found syphilis is through a blood test.

Syphilis can be passed from oral, vaginal or anal sex. As syphilis is passed from skin to skin transmission, condoms will reduce your chance of getting it but it is still possible.

Here is a link for additional information on Syphilis.
http://www.stdresource.com/disease/index.php?page=edit&id=4&action=viewfull

Let us know if you want us to expand on a topic. Remember if you would like to ask me a personal question just send me a PM.

HN
www.stdresource.com

 

[palmmaster]

you said that there could be rash or sore... could this be on the tongue?

I have noticed little tiny red spots on my tongue


and if the two people who see this could trade information as to which partner they have visited.

A bit worried but will visit the clinic asap

 

[Health Nurse]

you said that there could be rash or sore... could this be on the tongue?

I have noticed little tiny red spots on my tongue


and if the two people who see this could trade information as to which partner they have visited.

A bit worried but will visit the clinic asap

Hi palmmaster

It is impossible to diagnose conditions over the internet as we really need to see it and do some tests. It is very common to get spots and blemishes on the body from many other causes. I would suggest making a trip to the clinic and we can have a look and do some tests. With oral sex syphilis sores can be in the mouth.

The issue with syphilis is that in the medical community it is known as “the great imitator” (common for it not to have the classic syphilis symptoms of a sore (syphilis chancre) and syphilis rash. That is why a regular blood test is the best way to pick it up and every doctor’s office can do it.

I certainly do not want to spread any panic it is just two cases. It is more of a friendly reminder that it is out there and that some doctors may not be testing for it unless you ask for it.

The two cases were in men who had female partners from the Vancouver erotic section of Craigslist.

In BC (particularly the lower mainland) there have been two syphilis outbreaks going on at the same time in two different groups over the past few years. We have had one outbreak in men who have sex with men and we have had another linked to street based sex work.

This is the first time we have had two cases so close together connected to indoor sex work and just wanted to give everyone the heads up that it’s still out there. Again don’t panic we are talking about small numbers just a friendly reminder to include the syphilis test when you go for regular testing.

Let us know if you want us to expand on a topic. Remember if you would like to ask me a personal question just send me a PM.

HN
www.stdresource.com

 

[Health Nurse]

I've read through the posts, but just to make sure, how long does it take after exposure for syphillis to be "testable/detectable" via blood tests?

I want to go now, but I want to know how long afterwards I should go to do a follow up test just make sure I didn't get tested during that window where it might not have been detectable.

Hi DarkRook


The blood test would usually be positive by 6 weeks but can take as long as 3months.



Let us know if you want us to expand on a topic. Remember if you would like to ask me a personal question just send me a PM.

HN
www.stdresource.com

 

[Health Nurse]

Hi all

I forgot to mention that if someone has a primary syphilis sore there is a test we can do that detects the syphilis on the sore. This means you do not need to wait for the window period with the blood test.

We can only do this test on a moist sore which we think could be syphilis.

Let us know if you want us to expand on a topic. Remember if you would like to ask me a personal question just send me a PM.

HN
www.stdresource.com

 

[Quarter Mile'r]

To health nurse, can syphillus be detected through a urine sample
as well? I thought I heard of this not to long ago where the blood
test was not the only way for detection.

Or maybe it was another STD type exam. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Thanks.



..................QM'r

 

[Health Nurse]

To health nurse, can syphillus be detected through a urine sample
as well? I thought I heard of this not to long ago where the blood
test was not the only way for detection.

Or maybe it was another STD type exam. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Thanks.



..................QM'r

Hi quarter mile’r

I have not heard of a syphilis urine test. Currently we test for chlamydia and gonorrhea through a urine test.

We can detect syphilis through a blood test or if someone has a moist lesion we can take a sample of the fluid and detect it that way.

HN

 

[Quarter Mile'r]

Hi quarter mile’r

I have not heard of a syphilis urine test. Currently we test for chlamydia and gonorrhea through a urine test.

We can detect syphilis through a blood test or if someone has a moist lesion we can take a sample of the fluid and detect it that way.

HN

Okay, that's what it was. The other two you mention and not
syphilis that can be detected through urine sample. Thanks for clarifying.



.................QM'r

 

[doher]

hello HH

Definitely the best forum here. You say the STD clinics in Vancouver can be visited anonimously. Is it true that family doctors are compelled by law to report and identify std infected patients? Are the staff at the public clinics also governed by this law? Are prescription drugs available anonimously?



Just asking not hiding

 

[Health Nurse]

hello HH

Definitely the best forum here. You say the STD clinics in Vancouver can be visited anonimously. Is it true that family doctors are compelled by law to report and identify std infected patients? Are the staff at the public clinics also governed by this law? Are prescription drugs available anonimously?



Just asking not hiding

Hi doher

The law states that anyone who gets a reportable sexually transmitted infection (syphilis, gonorrhea or chlamydia) is required to get treated and any sex partners over a range of time (depends on which infection) is required to get tested and treated.

If your doctor does a test for you and it is positive, the lab the test was done at sends us a copy of the lab report. We would follow up with this by giving the doctor a call. If your family doctor treated you and did partner follow up we would close the case. The majority of the time the doctor will treat you and will get us to call you to talk about partners (this is done confidentially). This means everyone who does the testing e.g. family doctors, STD clinics… is bound by the same law.

The difference I guess would be if the test is done at your doctor and that doctor sees your entire family they are probably aware who your significant other is (if this is the case). If you go to the STD clinic we do not require ID, so some people give us fake names. We strongly encourage people to talk about sex partners as untreated STD can have really bad effects and if you are still having sex with them you will probably just get it back again. We also assess each case individually e.g. if there is a risk of violence to the person that tested positive we may not notify the partner.

We supply the drugs for all the treatable STD at any of our clinics so you do not need a prescription. Community health centers and youth clinics should also have access to this free medication. It would just be noted under the name you used.

The law to report does not cover infections like genital warts of genital herpes.

Let us know if you want us to expand on a topic. Remember if you would like to ask me a personal question just send me a PM.

HN
www.stdresource.com

 

[Health Nurse]

Just posting again to remind people to get checked for syphilis when you get a blood test or an STI screen.

 

[damion]

Just posting again to remind people to get checked for syphilis when you get a blood test or an STI screen.

Hi health nurse; there have not been any reports of people getting HIV or herpes/hepatitis from craigslist have there (in the vancouver area)?

Also, could you please educate me on the statistics of these viruses being found in saliva (i know HIV is next to NIL, how about the others?) I came back from a "BBBJ" today and I have been quite worried about this all day also..

Can you give me the infection rates of all of the 3 diseases mentioned above from getting a simple 'blow job'? (HIV/Herpes/Hepatitis... the scary ones.. as in transmission from female to male). I need some reassurance... thanks

 

[2Horny4MOG]

Victoria

Where in Victoria does one go to get STD tested?

 

[Health Nurse]

Hi health nurse; there have not been any reports of people getting HIV or herpes/hepatitis from craigslist have there (in the vancouver area)?

Also, could you please educate me on the statistics of these viruses being found in saliva (i know HIV is next to NIL, how about the others?) I came back from a "BBBJ" today and I have been quite worried about this all day also..

Can you give me the infection rates of all of the 3 diseases mentioned above from getting a simple `blow job`? (HIV/Herpes/Hepatitis... the scary ones.. as in transmission from female to male). I need some reassurance... thanks

Hi damion

I have not seen in our department any men who have seen female sex workers from craigslist contract HIV or hepatitis B. I will check with the report ability people and get back to you to see if other departments have seen anything.

I have seen men who have sex with men contract HIV from the partners they have met online.

As long as you are practicing safer sex and are vaccinated for hepatitis B you would have a low chance of contracting HIV and hepatitis B even if the person was infected.

Herpes is a difficult one since it is not a reportable infection, this means we do not have any data saying if it is linked to craigslist or not. As herpes is very common and can pass easily I would think that it would be related to everyone who has sex not just the people on craigslist.

Here is a link to a thread where we answered questions related to BBBJ. It is called “BBBJ and the Risks`”.

https://perb.cc/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=58253

Have a read of it and if you have any additional questions you can post it on this thread or send me a PM.

HN
www.stdresource.com

 

[westcoast555]

Can we get a rough idea?

This area is for Health Nurse to reply and provide advice

 

[Health Nurse]

Where in Victoria does one go to get STD tested?

Hi 2Horny4MOG

Sorry about the late reply.

The main place to go is the:

Victoria STD Clinic
1947 Cook Street
Victoria, BC
V8T 3P7
Phone: 250-388-2225

I spoke with the receptionist and she said that at this clinic you do not need a care card and that you do not need to use your real name.

There is also another group called the island sexual health society http://islandsexualhealth.org/ They have clinics around Victoria. The only problem with them is that you need to use your care card.

There also use to be a clinic at the needle exchange on Blanchard Street but it has closed down.

You can get an STI/HIV test completed at any doctor’s office as well.

Does this answer your question?

HN

 

[bole065]

Hello,
I want to ask, if I want to get tested for all sexually transmitted diseases, what do I ask for when I come to the clinic?
In other words, I want to see if I am completely clean. This is because I haven't had any clear symptoms of any STD, but I am afraid of getting sexual with a new partner not knowing if I am totally clean (and I've never had any STD tests done before either).
Thanks

 

[Health Nurse]

Hello,
I want to ask, if I want to get tested for all sexually transmitted diseases, what do I ask for when I come to the clinic?
In other words, I want to see if I am completely clean. This is because I haven`t had any clear symptoms of any STD, but I am afraid of getting sexual with a new partner not knowing if I am totally clean (and I`ve never had any STD tests done before either).
Thanks

Hi bole065

It’s great that you want to get a test done especially when you are feeling ok. When you go to one of our clinics they will generally ask you several questions. All the information is confidential so I would just recommend that you answer as truthfully as possible. It gives them an idea of what your risks are and what tests should be done and advise given. Also do not pee (urinate) for 2 hours before your test.

The general tests that are offered for men are chlamydia, gonorrhea, HIV, syphilis and hepatitis. We do not have any tests to look for HPV (genital warts) except by just looking for the physical warts (most people who have HPV on the skin do not have visible warts). We also do not offer a screening test for herpes except for looking for herpes sores (most people who have herpes do not have visible herpes sores). We do have blood tests that allow us to check for herpes but we can only order these in particular situations.

We also did a thread called “Getting tested for STD’s revisited:” There is information there on what tests are offered. This may be helpful in knowing what tests to ask for if visiting a doctor rather than the STI clinic or your local public health unit.

https://perb.cc/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=41576

As you can see it is difficult to know if you are completely free of sexually transmitted infections as it is difficult to test for things like herpes and HPV (genital warts). Yesterday we did a post on STI’s and stigma, in there we discuss such topics as what does clean mean and is it more about the stigma of STI’s. Here is a link.
https://perb.cc/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=91560


Does this answer your question?

HN

 

[Jack Meof]

most syph cases are among men who have sex with men and are common in that community. Women, who have it at much lower rates, are usually infected by these same people. Same with HIV. Mind you, this info will never be mentioned since nobody wants to upset the special interest group who knowingly partake in a high risk lifestyle, media and such would rather make it an "eveyone problem" when it simply is not.

 

[FortunateOne]

most syph cases are among men who have sex with men and are common in that community. Women, who have it at much lower rates, are usually infected by these same people. Same with HIV. Mind you, this info will never be mentioned since nobody wants to upset the special interest group who knowingly partake in a high risk lifestyle, media and such would rather make it an "eveyone problem" when it simply is not.

Well, I'm sure that the women who recently won court cases re: being exposed to AIDs by some very hetero HIV positive guys can rest easy, huh? But I guess them famous athletes with HIV got it from some other dude in the locker room. I guess as long as you're not a professional athlete, the sps should probably be offering bbfs along with their bbbjs. After all, they certainly won't get (or give) anything from a low risk guy like you.


This is Post#4 of THIS thread, from the Health Nurse. You might want to read it before you give out more of your expert opinions:

It is impossible to diagnose conditions over the internet as we really need to see it and do some tests. It is very common to get spots and blemishes on the body from many other causes. I would suggest making a trip to the clinic and we can have a look and do some tests. With oral sex syphilis sores can be in the mouth.

The issue with syphilis is that in the medical community it is known as “the great imitator” (common for it not to have the classic syphilis symptoms of a sore (syphilis chancre) and syphilis rash. That is why a regular blood test is the best way to pick it up and every doctor’s office can do it.

I certainly do not want to spread any panic it is just two cases. It is more of a friendly reminder that it is out there and that some doctors may not be testing for it unless you ask for it.

The two cases were in men who had female partners from the Vancouver erotic section of Craigslist.

This is the first time we have had two cases so close together connected to indoor sex work and just wanted to give everyone the heads up that it’s still out there. Again don’t panic we are talking about small numbers just a friendly reminder to include the syphilis test when you go for regular testing.