AMARILLO, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) – According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, syphilis cases have increased in the United States.
The CDC reported that in 2022, U.S. Syphilis cases reached the highest numbers since the 1950s, and reported syphilis cases increased by 80% in the United States between 2018 and 2022, with cases going from 115,000 to more than 207,000 and compounding a decades-long upward trend.
“It’s what I call “The big four” of sexually transmitted diseases, which are gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, and then HIV. So syphilis is only sexually transmitted, but we are starting to see this population of men who have sex with men that are responsible for the biggest increase, but we are also seeing it in all men and women who are sexually active,” said Dr. Brian Weis, the interim regional dean of the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine.
Dr. Weis said the STD rates in the Amarillo area mimic much of what is seen across the US. He said our syphilis rates have gone up, but he says chlamydia rates have plateaued and they are seeing a reduction in gonorrhea rates. He added they are also seeing more cases of congenital syphilis, where the mother passes the organism to her fetus.