U.S. Research Study Infected Guatemalans with STDs

The United States has issued an apology to Guatemala for a research study that involved

infecting more than 1,600 Guatemalans with sexually transmitted diseases in the late 1940's.

The study, called the "U.S. Public Health Service Sexually Transmitted Disease Inoculation Study", was to test how effective penicillin would be in treating diseases such as syphilis, gonorrhea, and chancres.

It was conducted by a U.S. Public Health Service medical officer, Dr. John C. Cutler, who was also responsible for a study that saw more than 400 hundred African-American men in Tuskegee, Alabama denied treatment for syphilis to study its effects.

Susan Reverby, a professor at Wellesley College, was researching this study when she uncovered documents which revealed that between 1946 and 1948, 696 Guatemalan people were infected with syphilis, 772 with gonorrhea, and 142 with chancres. The subjects were all prison inmates, mental hospital patients, and soldiers.

According to the long-forgotten documents, the U.S. National Institute of Health paid syphilis-infected prostitutes to sleep with the prisoners to infect them. If they were not successfully infected, the bacteria would then be poured onto cuts made into their faces, arms, or penises. Sometimes it was even injected by spinal puncture.

Guatemalan officials were unaware of the program until Thursday when the current Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom received a phone call from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Colom described the experiments as a "crime against humanity" and demanded a meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama. However, he also thanked "the United States for its transparency in telling [them] the facts."

According to a statement released by the White House, Obama also called Colom on Friday to offer his "deep regret and ask pardon for the deeds of the 1940's."

He also "reaffirmed the United States' unwavering commitment to ensure that all human medical studies conducted today meet exacting U.S. and international legal and ethical standards."

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton added that "the conduct exhibited during the study does not represent the values of the United States, orthe commitment to human dignity and great respect for the people of Guatemala."

The U.S. government promised to further investigate both of Dr. Cutler's studies.

By: Jasmine EnbergRead more international news at www.allmediany.com U.S. Research Study Infected Guatemalans with STDsBy: Rose

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