Syphilis declines in 2000

by Cynthia Laird
Bay Area Reporter, November 29, 2001

The overall syphilis rate in the United States fell to an all-time low in 2000, continuing a decade-long decline that place elimination of the sexually transmitted disease within closer reach, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The new data was released Wednesday, November 28.

In San Francisco, the gay community has been told of an increase in syphilis rates among men who have sex with men for this year. Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, director of STD prevention for the San Francisco Department of Public Health, said last month that there have been 89 cases of syphilis among gay or bisexual men through the first nine months of this year.

In a statement, Klausner reiterated that the CDC was releasing data for 2000. "The CDC data is consistent with our 2000 data but now it is nearly the end of 2001 and times change such that through the end of October 2001 we now have 92 primary and secondary syphilis cases compared with 49 for the same period in 2000," Klausner said.

The national data were released at the opening of a CDC-sponsored conference in Dallas of community leaders and public health officials from around the country. The meeting, which continues through November 30, will address the CDC-led nationwide effort to eliminate syphilis focusing on public-private partnerships that have accelerated progress toward elimination in several communities.

"Eliminating syphilis would be landmark achievement and could reduce HIV transmission," Dr. Ronald Valdiserri, deputy director of the CDC's National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention, said in a conference call with reporters Wednesday

In 2000, only 5,979 cases of primary and secondary (P&S) syphilis were reported in the country, a decline of 9.6 percent since 1999.

"Syphilis is easily diagnosed and cured," Valdiserri said. He noted that syphilis rates are highest in poor African American communities, and he said elimination of the disease would end a "glaring racial disparity" in poor minority communities.

Areas that reported more than 100 cases of syphilis in 2000 included Cook County, Illinois (Chicago); Marion County, Indiana (Indianapolis); Wayne County, Michigan (Detroit); Shelby County, Tennessee (Memphis); Baltimore, Maryland; Fulton County, Georgia (Atlanta); Davidson County, Tennessee (Nashville); Maricopa County, Arizona  (Phoenix); Los Angeles County; Miami-Dade County; and Dallas County, Texas.

San Francisco was ranked 21 on the list with 51 cases of P&S syphilis reported in 2000, according to the CDC. That represents a rate of 6.8 cases for every 100,000 people, the agency stated.

"Syphilis rates in the United States have declined dramatically over the past four years, indicating significant progress in our syphilis elimination efforts," said Dr. Jeffrey P. Koplan, CDC director.

The CDC launched its plan to eliminate syphilis in the US in 1998.

The CDC noted that year 2000 syphilis rates among men who have sex with men remains a problem in some cities, but San Francisco was not on the agency's list of cities that have seen an increase. Cities where outbreaks have occurred among men who have sex with men include Los Angeles, Seattle, New York City, Chicago, and Miami Beach.