Venereal Disease Contacts of Merchant Seamen

Abstract

T HE Division of Foreign Quarantine, in cooperation with the then Division of Venereal Disease, Public Health Service, conducted a study of venereal disease contacts among merchant seamen during a 6-month period beginning June 1, 1951, and ending November 30, 1951. The purpose of the study was to determine which seaports of the world are the principal foci of infection. Each major quarantine station in the United States, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico participated. A contact study report was completed for each seaman (citizen or alien) who had been treated for venereal disease during the voyage to the United States or who had clinical symptoms of venereal disease and was so diagnosed upon arrival. The report form included the name and nationality of vessel, date of arrival, nationality of the seaman, venereal disease for which the seaman was treated, number of previous infections, ports where sex contacts occurred, number of days of shore leave, and number and type of different sex partners. In the 6-month period of the study, 2,426 infected seamen reported 4,364 sex contacts in ports throughout the world. This represents a contact index of 1.80. Of the total number of infected seamen, 2,052 (84.6 percent) were treated for venereal disease en route to the United States, and 381 (15.7 percent) were treated upon arrival. (The total exceeds 100 percent because some men were treated both en route and upon arrival.) Patients with gonorrhea accounted for 1,953 of the venereal infections and comprised 80.5 percent of the total 2.426. Based on current venereal disease rates, the 1,953 cases of gonorrhea represent the morbidity which might be expected from a population of 1,286,000 United States citizens annually. Similarly, the 225 cases of syphilis are equal to the annual morbidity of infectious cases to be expected among 1,086,000 United States citizens. Although some 30 countries of residence were represented, 64 percent of the infected seamen were Americans. Fifty-one percent of the patients reported they had had previous infections. The nmimber of infected seamen reported to quarantine stations in the various geographic areas are as follows: east coast, 982; gulf coast, 298; west coast, 1,057; Hawaii, 60; and Puerto Rico, 29. The nationalities of infected seamen, arranged in descending order of frequency, were: American, Norwegian, British, Danish, Swedish, Canadian, Dutch, Greek, German, Honduran, Finnish, French, Cuban, and Spanish. Each of these nationalities included 10 or more infected. seamen. Table 1 lists the leading ports of exposure throughout the world and shows the number of seamen infect;ed and the number of exposures. The total nurnber of infected seamen and contacts also are shown for each port and continent. Since some men were exposed in more than one port, the sum of infected men in this table exceeds the total of 2,426. Table 2 indicates the number of contacts by geographic area of exposure and type of contact. Pickup-no-fee is reported more often than any other type of contact in ports of the United States and Europe. On the other hand, house prostitute is reported more often than other types of contacts in Mexico, Japan, West Indies, Central America, South America, India, and Africa. Of the total contacts in all ports, almost half (47.2 percent) were reported as house prostitute. The remaining types of contacts were distributed among streettwalker Dr. Stuart is health program officer and Mr. Joyce is a statistician with the Venereal Disease Branch, Division of Special Health Services, Public Health Service.