Erie County’s extended syphilis outbreak continued in 2023, as cases of the sexually transmitted disease set a record for the third straight year.
Sixty-five syphilis cases were reported by the Erie County Department of Health in 2023, higher than the 61 cases reported in 2022 and 48 cases in 2021. These are the county’s three highest totals since at least 1990, the earliest year records are available.
“It’s not just us. We’re seeing increased cases across Pennsylvania and the nation,” said Colleen Wallace, R.N., a communicable diseases nursing supervisor for the county Health Department.
Syphilis cases rose by 80% in the United States between 2018 and 2022, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Increases have been reported in nearly every demographic, with higher rates among certain racial and ethnic populations.
What has changed? Dating apps and the COVID-19 pandemic, said Natalie Miller, vice president of clinical operations for Adagio Health, which treats patients with sexually transmitted diseases at clinics throughout western Pennsylvania, including Erie and Edinboro.