News in brief - Aug. 15, 2011

Syphilis rising among young, black and Hispanic gay men

Primary and secondary syphilis increasingly are affecting young men who have sex with men. Rates also are rising among blacks and Hispanics who have sex with men, according to a study in the Aug. 2 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine. These individuals might be at greater risk for contracting other sexually transmitted diseases, such as HIV, the study said (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21810707).

Researchers examined data on reported cases of syphilis from 2005 to 2008 from the National Electronic Telecommunications System for Surveillance, which provides the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with information on cases of nationally notifiable diseases. Researchers focused on data from 27 states that had information on the gender of the sexual partners of men with primary or secondary syphilis.

They found that rates of syphilis increased 74% among black men who have sex with men during the time period studied. The rate climbed from 11.2 reported cases per 100,000 males in 2005 to 18.9 in 2008. Syphilis rates increased 61% among Hispanic men. In 2005, there were 4.7 reported cases per 100,000 males compared with 7.3 cases in 2008.

Disease rates also rose among white men, climbing from 3.4 cases per 100,000 males in 2005 to 4 cases in 2008.

The greatest increase in rate by age was among young men 20 to 29. The study's authors recommend that health professionals implement interventions that target all young men who have sex with men.

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Most U.S. hospitals do not fully support breastfeeding

Fewer than 4% of hospitals in the United States provide the full range of support new mothers need to be able to breastfeed, says a study in the Aug. 5 issue of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The findings come as recent data show that breastfed babies have lower rates of diabetes, ear infections and obesity than children who receive formula (www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6030a4.htm).

The CDC issued a survey to hospitals on infant feeding routines in 2007 and 2009. Researchers examined responses of participants, which included 2,690 hospitals in 2007 and 2,672 hospitals in 2009.

In 2009, about 93% of hospitals provided prenatal breastfeeding education and about 89% instructed new mothers on breastfeeding techniques. But only about one in seven hospitals had model breastfeeding policies, and 27% of facilities had adequate support for breastfeeding mothers when they were discharged.

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