G. Timothy Johnson, M.D.

DEAR DR. JOHNSON:

Are there any unique venereal diseases that homosexuals should worry about? B. H., San Francisco, Calif.

DEAR B. H.:

Yes. Within recent months, several new reports concerning infectious diseases caused by organisms from the gastrointestinal tract have been reported in homosexuals. The specific diseases include giardiasis, shigellosis and amebiasis.

All of the intestinal organisms causing these diseases can be transmitted via homosexual contact, and they are being discovered with increasing frequency in homosexual men.

Homosexual males should be aware of the possibility that they might contract intestinal diseases from sexual activity, and physicians should be alerted to the possibility in case of otherwise unexplained intestinal distress.

1. One hopes the increasingly open attitude toward homosexuality in this country will result in a more candid opportunity to discover and treat homosexuals with these problems.