Rising Rates of Syphilis in the Era of Syphilis Elimination

Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the impact of syphilis control activities in King County, Washington. Study Design: We calculated rates of early syphilis and trends in numbers of persons tested and diagnosed through screening and partner notification from 1998 to 2005. Results:...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sexually transmitted diseases 2007-03, Vol.34 (3), p.154-161
Main Authors: KERANI, ROXANNE P., HANDSFIELD, H. HUNTER, STENGER, MARK S., SHAFII, TARANEH, ZICK, ELLEN, BREWER, DEVON, GOLDEN, MATTHEW R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bacterial diseases
Bacterial diseases of the genital system
Biological and medical sciences
Contact Tracing
Disease control
Epidemiology
Epidemiology. Vaccinations
Female
General aspects
Homosexuality, Male
Homosexuals
Human bacterial diseases
Human infectious diseases. Experimental studies and models
Humans
Incidence
Infectious diseases
Kings
Male
Mass Screening
Medical sciences
Medical screening
Notification
Prevalence
Screening
Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Bacterial - diagnosis
Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Bacterial - epidemiology
Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Bacterial - microbiology
Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Bacterial - prevention & control
Syphilis
Syphilis - diagnosis
Syphilis - epidemiology
Syphilis - microbiology
Syphilis - prevention & control
Washington - epidemiology
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the impact of syphilis control activities in King County, Washington. Study Design: We calculated rates of early syphilis and trends in numbers of persons tested and diagnosed through screening and partner notification from 1998 to 2005. Results: Early syphilis cases increased from 38 in 1998 to 188 in 2005 with 92% occurring among men who have sex with men (MSM). Our health department conducted public awareness campaigns, increased publicly financed syphilis screening among MSM by 179%, and intensified partner notification efforts. Despite these efforts, the prevalence of syphilis among screened populations was only 1.1%, and 71% syphilis cases were diagnosed after seeking care for symptoms. The proportion of cases diagnosed through screening and partner notification did not significantly change during the evaluation period. Early syphilis incidence among MSM more than doubled between 2003 and 2005. Conclusions: New, innovative approaches to syphilis control are needed.
ISSN:0148-5717
1537-4521
DOI:10.1097/01.olq.0000233709.93891.e5