Syphilis Rages In City; Young Women Are Hard Hit
Three years ago, in May of 2007, the Philadelphia Public Record warned the City in a series of articles a syphilis epidemic was underway. Its Health Dept. didn’t respond to our alarms, so you now need to add “syphilis epidemic” to the list of problems requiring immediate and serious action by this administration and, in particular, its Dept. of Health. Now the disease is out of hand.
Back then, hard-working and frustrated disease-intervention specialists in the Health Dept. were crying, “We’re in an epidemic.” Nobody listened, but we did, and we reported their complaints in that series, to no avail.
The disease-intervention specialists (DISs) had contracts with the Health Dept. to track down the immediate sexpartners of those identified as carrying HIV/AIDS or found to be syphilis-infected and, as a result, carriers of those diseases. The DIS inspectors would then quickly check with those partners and advise them what health precautions they needed to take to free themselves from the infectious disease.
Several of them became alarmed when they were pulled off to keep track of how school students were caught up in the chlamydia epidemic. Although this sexually transmitted disease can curtail the ability of infected girls to bear children, it does not kill as AIDS or syphilis can.
The DISs’ best results come when they can immediately contact the newly infected, before they spread their ailment to others. Delays impair their ability to track them and stop them from transmitting disease to others.
These courageous public servants fed us the facts for our 2007 series. Yet for that brave act, although we didn’t identify them at the time, these whistle-blowers were uncovered, blamed and dismissed.
What concerned them most was they had witnessed the tip of an epidemic surfacing: the birth of a baby infected with syphilis. That meant heterosexual women were being infected by a disease associated, of late, more with male-on-male sex. “The birth of that infected baby told us, based on figures we constantly tracked, we were in a full-blown epidemic,” said Brian Robinson, one of the DISs whose contract was canceled.
He and others of the group, under the name of Tuskeegee North Group, are now in federal court suing the Center For Disease Control and the Dept. Of Health over their inaction.
Now we learn its spread has worsened, and only because some of those infected have been detected.
Because of the continued disregard of health advisories and public announcements, the City finds itself saddled with a growing group of individuals, many identified through case histories as bisexual, who continue to be sexually active despite knowing they are infected with HIV/AIDS and syphilis.
Syphilis causes irreversible damage to organs, leading to death, if left untreated. It is a cause of blindness and dementia, and can move HIV into AIDS status quickly. It’s the silent disease, often misdiagnosed by doctors not familiar with its symptoms.
Revealing this sobering news is a new report from a community group called the Philadelphia Syphilis Advisory Committee. Formed in 2008 from community-based organizations, this committee understood, according to its co-chair, Debra D’Alessandro, MPH, “the need to continue to putting more resources into partner notification, so those individuals could be screened and treated by the Dept. of Health or their own doctors.”
That Committee’s report reveals there has been a 360% rise in the number of young women in this city infected with syphilis.
Syphilis cases went from five to 23 among young women aged 15 to 29 in Philadelphia when compared to 2008. Additional data indicate these women represent a growing proportion of cases.
In 2009, young women represented 10% (23/218) of the total cases. In 2008, they represented only 3% (5/150) of the total cases.
Although other metropolitan areas have seen similar rises in syphilis cases, PSAC says it “is particularly troubled by the rise seen among young women, especially since it represents an expansion of disease into new and diverse populations.”
Gloria Casarez, Director of LGBT Affairs, Office of Mayor Michael Nutter, City of Philadelphia and member of PSAC, states, “All Philadelphians should be alerted to the current state of syphilis in our communities and support the efforts of the Philadelphia Dept. of Public Health and medical providers in their quest to eliminate syphilis from Philadelphia. Individuals at risk for becoming infected with syphilis should learn how it is transmitted, use condoms regularly, and get tested for syphilis and other sexually transmitted disease such as gonorrhea, chlamydia and HIV.”
Yet it is the very department that turned its Disease Intervention Specialists into chlamydia counters.
For those who do not have a health-care provider, they say testing and treatment services are available for free at Health Center #1 (500 S. Broad Street) and Health Center #5 (1900 N. 20th Street) as well as many community-based organizations. PSAC also recommends individuals who are told they are infected with, or suspect they may have come in contact with, syphilis assist PDPH efforts in identifying others who may also be at risk of becoming infected.
Those in charge of this area of care refuse to talk to the press. We suggest our readers ask Mr. Jeff Moran, Director of Communications, Philadelphia Dept. of Public Health, “just what the city is doing to curb and end this epidemic”? His number is (215) 685-5244.
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Good advice. We often advise our students to take a step back and understand what they are getting into. This article reinforces that concept with some practical advice.