Erie's extended syphilis outbreak sets another record for cases
Erie County continues to struggle with an extended syphilis outbreak, as cases of the sexually transmitted disease surged again in 2022 to the highest number in at least 32 years.
The Erie County Department of Health reported 61 syphilis cases in 2022, surpassing the 48 cases reported in 2021. These are the county's two highest annual totals since at least 1990, the earliest year records are available.
"It's all about the power of awareness. We quit talking about syphilis in 1949 and now we are seeing numbers like we haven't seen in more than 30 years," said Natalie Miller, vice president of clinical operations for Adagio Health, which treats STDs at medical offices throughout western Pennsylvania, including one in Erie. "It was the sleeping monster that woke up."
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Though syphilis is still not as prevalent a sexually transmitted disease as gonorrhea or chlamydia, it is a greater health concern. Left untreated, it can cause blindness, heart disease, mental problems, stroke, dementia and death.
County health officials have said one cause for the rise in syphilis cases is the popularity of dating apps that foster more unprotected sex with anonymous partners.
Erie County also reported its first case of congential syphilis since 2014.
More:Erie County reports first congenital syphilis case since 2014 amid disease outbreak
Congenital syphilis is when a pregnant woman passes on the disease to her unborn child. It increases the chances of miscarriages, stillbirths, prematurely born babies, low-birthweight babies and babies who die shortly after birth.
"Our syphilis rates were good for a really long time, but now they are up and we need to address that," said Sue Carlson, R.N., communicable diseases nursing supervisor for the County Health Department.
One way is to convince health care providers to test more patients for STDs, not just those who ask or are considered high risk, both Carlson and Miller said.
"When I was in practice, I had a 50-year-old woman of color in the office and I told her that I wanted to test a wider range of patients for STDs," said Miller, who is a nurse practitioner. "She told me that she had taken a cruise and engaged in some risky behavior, so she appreciated it."
While Erie County's number of syphilis cases continued to climb in 2022, the case count for chlamydia has remained between 1,202 and 1,371 cases since 2011 and gonorrhea cases dropped by 56%, from 713 cases in 2021 to 315 cases in 2022.
More: Syphilis cases surged in Erie County in 2021 to highest total in at least 31 years
Improved testing is one reason why gonorrhea and chlamydia cases haven't risen in Erie County, Carlson and Miller said.
"And for some reason, people are more scared of gonorrhea than they are of syphilis," Carlson said. "Perhaps it's because there are limited antibiotics available for gonorrhea (due to drug-resistant strains), but more people are getting tested for it."
STD testing identifies cases but can reduce the overall spread when the patient is treated for the disease, and when providers can contact the patient's sexual partners and convince them to get tested and treated.
Free testing and treatment for syphilis and other sexually transmitted diseases are available at the following Erie County locations:
Adagio Health — 3530 Peach St., Suite 120, 814-453-4718; 118 East Plum St., Edinboro, 814-734-7600.
Central Outreach Wellness Center — 3140 State St, 814-619-4009.
Community Health Net — 1202 State St., 814-455-7222; 4401 Iroquois Ave., Lawrence Park Township, 814-464-0509.
Women’s Care Center — 4408 Peach St., Suite 302, 814-868-4050.
Contact David Bruce at dbruce@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNBruce.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie County's syphilis cases reach record high for 2nd straight year
