According to a report published by the San Francisco Department of Public Health: in 2012, compared to heterosexual males, MSM in the City are at significantly higher risk of early syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia:
– Risk of early syphilis is 117.0 times higher in MSM compared to heterosexual males
– Risk of gonorrhea is 8.6 times higher in MSM compared to heterosexual males
– Risk of chlamydia is 27.2 times higher in MSM compared to heterosexual males
Most of the infections are concentrated in the Castro area and surrounding neighborhoods. In addition, there were 15,861 San Franciscans living with HIV/AIDS by the end of 2010. Most were male (92%) and white (63%). In addition, nearly three-quarters of all HIV/AIDS cases were among men who have sex with men (MSM.)The neighborhoods with the highest numbers of people living with HIV/AIDS are the Castro, Mission, and Western Addition.
Author’s note: From the 1970s onwards, the Castro District has been mythologized in the gay consciousness through everything from films to disco songs: way back in The Village People’s “San Francisco” and most recently through the HBO series “Looking.” What I remember most about arriving in the Castro during the late-1980s, was the still evident effects of AIDS: noticeably sick men walking about like the living dead. Now, that I have returned to help my gay brothers and sisters, the scene has changed: restlessness, anxiety, and disease are still pervasive, but the reality is hidden underneath mega-doses of ant-viral cocktails, male-hormone energy drinks, and liberal amounts of meth. Most tragically, there are more young people, but they all look old.
Link to San Francisco report: