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A couplet: a case of anal ulceration and another of inguinal swelling

Marcus Y Chen, Timothy R H Read, David E Leslie and Melanie Bissessor
Med J Aust 2011; 195 (1): . || doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2011.tb03191.x
Published online: 4 July 2011

In recent years, lymphogranuloma venereum, which is caused by C. trachomatis serotypes L1–L3, has emerged as a problem among men who have sex with men (MSM). Cases of LGV have been reported among MSM in the United States, United Kingdom, Europe and Australia, and have been overrepresented among HIV-positive MSM.1,2 In contrast to infections seen in developing areas where LGV remains endemic, the more recent reports among MSM in Western countries have been characterised by a predominance of proctitis cases, with fewer genital or inguinal presentations.1-3 Furthermore, nearly all recent cases have involved a clonal strain of the C. trachomatis L2b serovar.4


  • 1 Melbourne School of Population Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC.
  • 2 Melbourne Sexual Health Centre, Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, VIC.
  • 3 Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, VIC.


Correspondence: mbissessor@mshc.org.au

Acknowledgements: 

We thank staff at the Microbiological Diagnostic Unit, University of Melbourne, for their assistance in LGV genotyping.

Competing interests:

None identified.

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