among Men Who Have Sex with Men

Background. Lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV) is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) and is rare in the Western world. Recently, 3 men who have sex with men presented with LGV proctitis at the Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. We investigated a possible outbreak in a sexual network of men who have sex with men (MSM). Methods. After active case finding, a total of 15 men presented and were investigated. Serum antibody titers to Chlamydia trachomatis were determined. Urine and rectum specimens were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the presence of C. trachomatis. C. trachomatis–positive specimens were genotyped to detect the specific C. trachomatis serovars. All subjects underwent routine STD screening. Sociodemographic, clinical, and endoscopic characteristics were evaluated. Results. Thirteen subjects had high immunoglobulin (Ig) G and IgA titers to C. trachomatis, suggesting an invasive infection. Rectal specimens of 12 subjects were PCR-positive for C. trachomatis. All urine specimens were negative. Genotyping revealed serovars L2 ( ) and L1 (). An ulcerative proctitis was found in all subjectsnp 8 np 1 obtaining sigmoidoscopy (). Eleven of 13 subjects with an LGV diagnosis were seropositive for humannp 9 immunodeficiency virus (HIV), 6 had another concomitant STD, and 1 had recently acquired a hepatitis C viru