As syphilis cases are on rise, doctors are speaking out

Many seek to get people to care about the disease

Syphilis is skyrocketing, but many people don’t seem to care.

That’s a huge problem, and it’s one of the reasons we ended up in this situation in the first place, experts say. Still, they advise against feeling anxiety around sex because of it − they just want people to be more aware and exercise a healthy dose of caution when it comes to their sex lives.

Sexual health and medical professionals have been sounding the alarm about syphilis cases, which surged in 2022 to their highest level since 1950, according to a report released last month by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The situation is serious; yet, experts tell USA TODAY they’re concerned many members of the general public don’t seem bothered by it, going about sex without taking adequate precautions.

“From a public health perspective, we’ve been very concerned about it all along ... but, from a patient perspective, I think syphilis falls off the radar,” says Dr. Peter Leone, a professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine’s Division of Infectious Diseases. “It is a big deal, and it’s a big deal because there are consequences that I think people forget.”

Why don’t more people care it?

According to the CDC, in 2022, a total of 207,255 cases of syphilis were reported in the United States. Total syphilis cases increased by 16.9%, as the rate of reported cases rose from 53.2 per 100,000 in 2021 to 62.2 per 100,000 in 2022.

Especially alarming: Congenital syphilis, which occurs when a mother with syphilis passes the infection on to her baby during pregnancy, increased by 30.6%, with more than 3,700 cases in 2022.

So why aren’t more people talking about syphilis? Experts speculate that after years of COVID-19 precautions, many people may feel burnt out.

“There’s certainly some fatigue around worrying about infections. This one doesn’t seem any scarier than COVID,” says Dr. Ana Cepin, an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology and the director of Community Women’s Health at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center. “A new infection does not sound so scary.”

This attitude, however, is misguided, she says, as syphilis can have dire consequences, especially when left untreated. Though treatable with antibiotics, syphilis, if allowed to fester, can affect the brain and nervous system, causing dementia, tinnitus and, in some severe cases, death. Permanent vision impairment, including total blindness, is another rare consequence of untreated syphilis, but it’s one Leone says he’s seen more and more of in his practice.

Debby Herbenick, a professor at the Indiana University School of Public Health and the author of “Yes Your Kid: What Parents Need to Know About Today’s Teens and Sex,” says people can also have a psychological block when it comes to thinking about sexually transmitted infections, or STIs. Even for those who are aware of STDs and their prevalence, it can be hard for people to see themselves as someone who could potentially get infected.

This is especially true of syphilis, which disproportionately affects men who have sex with men. Dr. Jon McGarry, the chief medical officer at MISTR, speculates widespread use of PrEP, a medication that can reduce HIV infections from sex by as much as 99%, has likely led to more risky sexual behavior in this population, contributing to its higher rate of syphilis.

It’s important to remember, however, that anyone can contract the disease.

About 59,000, or 28% of syphilis cases in 2022 were the infectious forms of syphilis and about a quarter were reported by women and nearly another one-fourth were reported by heterosexual men

“People often associate STIs with ‘other’ kinds of people – they don’t often think they could possibly be at risk,” Herbenick says. “However, anyone can get syphilis if they are exposed to it.”

Some syphilis anxiety can be a good thing

If you’re sexually active, experts say regular STI screenings, the use of barriers such as condoms and knowing your partner’s STI status can lower your chances of both contracting and spreading syphilis during sex.

While apathy isn’t the answer to the surge, neither is severe anxiety − though some level of increased caution is a good thing.

“Low levels of anxiety can be helpful because they prompt people to take action. That’s healthy stress,” Herbenick says. “High levels of anxiety are not what we want; if people feel that their anxiety about syphilis is getting in the way of dating or intimacy, they might check in with a counselor or therapist.”