San Francisco: Gay Men Meeting Online Contracting Syphilis Faster

Finding quick sex may be easier than ever because of the Internet, leading to growth in some STDs, especially among gay men, a San Francisco health official said Wednesday. Jeffrey Klausner, director of sexual disease prevention at the city's Department of Public Health, said 38 percent of recent syphilis cases are among people who met online, up from 20 percent to 25 percent two years ago. Getting diseases such as syphilis is more likely when meeting people online than in everyday affairs because of the type of people online sex chat rooms attract, said Klausner. "It is just a lot easier for people to meet partners online, so they are more likely to meet more partners," he said. "It brings together what we call high-risk core groups who are particularly interested in having a lot of new partners and ... it is these high-risk core groups that are the first to get new infections," said Klausner.

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