San Francisco gay men are being warned of an outbreak of bacterial meningitis in the gay community in New York, specifically in Brooklyn. There has yet to be evidence of the outbreak outside NYC, however, knowing that many people like to breeze through New York around Christmas and New Year's, S.F. health officials issued a warning yesterday that men who plan to have any sort of intimate contact with other men in New York should consider getting vaccinated.
The outbreak is not huge: Twelve cases of meningitis among gay men have been reported in the past year, with three of those in the last six weeks. But because meningitis can spread so easily, through spit and mucous, and because single gay men let's face it are makeout sluts on even non-holiday weeks, let alone the biggest migratory holiday time of the year, the warning is probably not out of line.
Bacterial meningitis can be treated with antibiotics, however it can lead to all kinds of complications, and can cause permanent brain damage, hearing loss, kidney failure and death. The vaccine is considered 80 to 90 percent effective in preventing transmission of the disease.
