JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – Syphilis cases are steadily on the rise in Mississippi, and health experts are working to decrease those numbers.
The state currently has one of the highest syphilis rates in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) STD Surveillance report. The sexually transmitted disease (STD) is caused by the bacterium treponema pallidum, which can spread through direct contact of a syphilis sore during intercourse.
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“In the past six to 12 months, there’s been a significant rise, not only in individual infected with syphilis, but also babies being born with something called congenital syphilis, where the pregnant mothers had syphilis that was not properly treated, and it was passed on to their unborn child,” said Dr. Timothy Quinn, of Quinn Healthcare.
Doctors said having syphilis increases the risk of contracting or spreading other illnesses, including HIV…