YOUR HEALTH

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I read an article about a strain of chlamydia that infects gay men. It says that the infection is slowly spreading among gay men here. It is called LGV chlamydia and is sexually transmitted. It has caused a worrisome outbreak in Europe, and diagnosis of it has been confirmed in the United States.

I ask because my son is gay and lives with another man. I did not know he was gay until recently. He has been married three times. He has had an infection in his jaw and ear. Please answer this, as I am all alone and don't have any other relatives. -M.F.

ANSWER: Chlamydia (cluh-MID-ee-uh) is a special kind of bacterium. It's no stranger to these shores. One strain of this germ causes a

common sexually transmitted disease that gives rise to a penile discharge in men and a vaginal discharge in women. Infection with this strain doesn't always produce symptoms, and that creates problems in eradicating the germ and keeping the infection rate low.

The article you mention is about another chlamydia strain that causes a different sexually transmitted disease, lymphogranuloma venereum -LGV. It's not a new infection. It's seen most frequently in Africa, India, Southeast Asia, South America and the Caribbean. LGV produces a sore or small lump on the genitals of men and women. Then, groin lymph nodes enlarge. It can also infect the rectum to cause proctitis, an inflammation of

the rectal tissues. This is the kind of infection that the article referred to, and most cases here have involved male homosexuals who are infected with the AIDS virus. A course of the antibiotic doxycycline can usually cure LGV.

Your son doesn't have LGV. Jaw and ear infections are not signs of it. He is unlikely ever to catch LGV, since he is in a monogamous relationship with one other person.

Dr. Donohue regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but he will incorporate them in his column whenever possible. Readers may write him or request an order form of available health newsletters at P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL328536475.