The McDonald/Wright Building offers free vaccinations for patients interested. (courtesy of L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center)

The L.A. gay community is extremely concerned, as the infection rate has shown to be higher in men who have sex with other men, especially those who are also HIV positive, says Robert Bolan, the medical director at the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center.

Four of the eight people who came down with the illness had sex with other men and three were HIV positive. The three who died in February and March were 27 or 28 years old and two were HIV positive, according to the department.

IMD is spread by close contact such as kissing, sharing drinks and smoking of any kind. Disease symptoms usually occur within five days of exposure and include fever, severe headaches and a stiff neck, according to the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center.

Five clinics, including the Gay and Lesbian Center, are offering free vaccinations.

Bolan said that he does not know why gay and bisexual men are at a higher risk of contracting the disease.

"Anecdotally, our community is more physically demonstrative at all ages with one another (hugging, kissing and even deep kissing) than heterosexual populations," Bolan said on the general trend of the gay community versus others as it pertains to physical interactions being a cause for the spread of meningitis.

However, this is not just an epidemic amongst the gay and bisexual community, despite the recent outbreaks. Since October 2012, 32 bacterial meningitis cases have been reported in the county, and one third of those infected were men who had sex with men

“There are about a half million gay and bisexual men in Los Angeles and there have been 11 cases of IMD [Invasive Meningococcal Disease] in the last 18 months. However, for those who are infected, the consequence can be death,” said Bolan.

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