Syphilis Cases Climb For Seventh Straight Year In The U.S.

Chicago, IL (AHN) - Rates of syphilis infection have increased in the United States for the seventh year in a row, government researchers reported Wednesday. The increase in the cases is largely attributed by cases among gay and bisexual men.

According to a report by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, too few gay men are getting recommended annual screenings for syphilis and other sexually transmitted diseases. The CDC recommends that gay and bisexual men be tested for syphilis and other STDs at least once a year.

The report was released at CDC-sponsored 2008 National STD Prevention Conference in Chicago. The number of syphilis cases is still is relatively low 11,181 in last year. About 60 percent of syphilis cases last year occurred in gay men, compared with just 5 percent in 1999.

The data show the syphilis rate increased about 12 percent between 2006 and 2007, to about 3.7 cases per 100,000. That's a jump from 9,756 cases in 2006 to 11,181 last year, CDC researchers reported. It's also a 76 percent increase since 2000, when the rate was 2.1 per 100,000.

Among black men, rates jumped 25 percent to almost 22 cases per 100,000. Among black women, there was a 12 percent increase, to about 5 cases per 100,000.

Syphilis is a curable sexually transmitted disease caused by the Treponema pallidum spirochete. The route of transmission of syphilis is almost always by sexual contact, although there are examples of congenital syphilis via transmission from mother to child in utero. The signs and symptoms of syphilis are numerous; before the advent of serological testing, precise diagnosis was very difficult.

An estimated 36,000 cases of the disease were reported in the United States in 2006. The germ is passed from person to person through direct contact with a syphilis sore, with sores mainly occurring on the external genitals, vagina, anus, or in the rectum, according to the CDC.