Date: Wed, 26 Oct 1994 10:50:24 +0100 (MET)
From: berts <berts@xs4all.nl>

               Gays practice safe sex more than ever.


Gay men in Amsterdam practice safe sex more than ever before according to
as yet unpublished figures compiled by the Amsterdam board of health.
According to its soon to be published annual report the occurrence of 
sexually transmitted desease has, after a short revival in 1990 and 1992,
fallen again to its mid-eighties level.

At that time it had just become clear that the aids-virus was transmitted
via unsafe sex. Before 1982 the Amsterdam health service treated some 500
men for "anorectal gonorrhea", a bacterial infection which is transmitted 
through unprotected anal/genital contact, just like the aids-virus. After
the discovery of the aids-virus the number of cases dropped to around 40 
a year.

An upsurge in numbers to 142 in 1991 led to increased warnings and calls for
the closure of darkrooms in gay venues as it was feared that the unsafe sex
practised there would lead to even more infections. After peaking in 1991 the 
number of cases of gonorrhea has in 1993 gone down again to its "basic level"
of 41. "Our figures indicate that the sexual behaviour of gay men in
Amsterdam is now back again at the same level it was just after 1982 
(when everyone was scared stiff because of aids, bs)" according to 
dr. R.Coutinho, head of the Amsterdam board of health.

Love from Holland

Bert 
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