Syphilis cases surging nationwide, and doctors are alarmed
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Doctors are seeing an alarming trend of syphilis cases surging nationwide in recent years.
The CDC's latest STI surveillance report found syphilis infections have soared rapidly nationwide, with a percent change of nearly 79 percent from 2018 to 2022.
Allegheny County saw the same increase during that time, according to the Allegheny County Health Department.
"I don't anticipate that it's going to plummet anytime soon," said UPMC's Dr. Ken Ho, an infectious disease specialist and associate professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh.
The Allegheny County Health Department told KDKA-TV that while national rates rose from 2021 to 2022, rates in Allegheny County fell 16 percent.
Dr. Ho said the decrease between 2021 to 2022 is encouraging. What alarms him is the rise in congenital syphilis in 2022 nationwide, which was 10 times higher than a decade ago.
"Those are the cases we worry about a lot because there's big implications for the health of the baby, as well as the pregnancy can result in stillbirth, as well as birth defects," Dr. Ho said.
Issues with accessing health care and delayed testing could be contributing to the rise in cases.
"If we're thinking out of the box, we need to expand the availability of point-of-care testing where people can have their results right away," he said.
The sexually transmitted infection can cause serious health problems if it's not treated.
The county health department said syphilis has disproportionately impacted men who have sex with men and Black residents in Allegheny County.
Dr. Ho said this STI needs to be on the radar of providers.
"We are talking about it more now which is great, making sure pregnant women are getting tested, making sure people who are sexually active are getting regularly tested as well," he said.
Dr. Ho said people should also take steps to protect themselves.
"Engage with health care. If you're sexually active, have these conversations about how to do I protect myself from syphilis, should I be getting tested regularly, the answer probably being yes," he said.
ACHD's disease intervention specialists investigate every syphilis case identified in the county. The department said that includes contacting people and their possible partners to make sure they have access to treatment and follow-up testing.