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SAN FRANCISCO, November 26, 2003 (LifesiteNews.com) – Health authorities warn that there will be a 50 percent increase in syphilis cases among San Francisco homosexuals over 2002 levels if current trends continue. The epidemic reflects an increase in dangerous sexual practices among homosexual men in the city. The health authority also predicts a “massive spike” in HIV/AIDS cases as a result.  Researchers at U.T. Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, TX, have revealed that HIV is more easily transmitted to and from people with syphilis. “Syphilis may predispose a person toward more rapid progression of HIV disease,” said Dr. Michael Norgard, acting chairman of microbiology at the Centre and co-author of an article on the subject in the April issue Journal of Infectious Diseases.  According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), people with syphilis are two to five times more likely to transmit or contract HIV than individuals not infected with a sexually transmitted disease. The San Francisco syphilis epidemic parellels similar increases in the disease in parts of the United Kingdom.  Read full article on Syphilis transmission:  https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1998/03/980324075914.htm