Group sex parties tied to syphilis cases - MarketWatch

"Group sex parties tied to syphilis cases

Group sex parties may have led to an Oklahoma syphilis outbreak among teenagers, including two who learned they had syphilis and HIV, health officials said.
'We are still looking to see if (sex parties and syphilis) are related and how they are related,' Jan Fox, chief of sexual transmitted disease services for Oklahoma's Health Department, told The Oklahoman."

Reported cases of STDs - such as chlamydia, syphilis and gonorrhoea - double. - swissinfo

Cases of STDs double
The rate at which the Swiss are contracting sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) has increased dramatically since 1999, the Federal Health Office said on Thursday.

Reported cases of chlamydia, syphilis and gonorrhoea have doubled, even tripled, among the Swiss, although the higher figures probably do not reflect an equivalent increase in unprotected sex.

Between 2003 and 2008, the number of reported chlamydia cases increased from 3,493 to 6,178. There have already been 1,249 cases reported for 2009 – 54 more cases than for the same period last year."

The Enid News and Eagle, Enid, OK - Recent surge of syphilis infections in state alarming

"Recent surge of syphilis infections in state alarming

The news about a recent teen outbreak of syphilis in Oklahoma is almost hard to imagine.

But, unfortunately, it’s apparently very real and also reveals a growing problem we’re sure most parents are unaware of.

Ten teenagers have been diagnosed with syphilis in central Oklahoma over the last four weeks. That’s bad enough. However, some of the cases appear to be arising from parties where young people are having unprotected group sex."

Martlet.ca | The University of Victoria's Independent Newspaper

"B.C. leads Canada in newly-reported syphilis cases

What did Al Capone, Hitler, Ivan the Terrible, Mussolini, Gauguin and possibly even Nietzsche have in common? Syphilis.

Syphilis, a sexually transmitted infection (STI), has had a long and mysterious history since its first documented case in 1494. The culprit, a spiral-shaped bacterium called Treponema pallidum defies its tiny, unassuming size in order to wreak havoc within our bodies. Its symptoms often range from unsightly genital ulcers and nasty full-body rashes with flu-like symptoms, to dementia, paralysis and death."

Syphilis remains problem in Miss. | clarionledger.com | The Clarion-Ledger

"Syphilis remains problem in Miss.
Department of Health is gaining ground on infant mortality rate

State Health Officer Dr. Ed Thompson has seen progress on the dozen goals he made when he took over as state health officer in 2007.

But one problem still haunts him - control of syphilis. 'We have to keep struggling with that,' he said. 'At least we're not in the top 10 anymore.'

Under Thompson's predecessor, Dr. Brian Amy, Mississippi saw increases in tuberculosis, sexually transmitted diseases and infant mortality."

Syphilis rates rise in Minnesota | International Falls Daily Journal

"Syphilis rates rise in Minnesota

Koochiching County public health director also concerned about county’s rates of chlamydia and gonorrhea

Health officials are expressing concern over the recent rise in syphilis cases in Minnesota.

Locally, Koochiching County Public Health Director Susan Congrave is also concerned about the rise in not only syphilis, but the overall increase in cases of all sexually transmitted infections. She noted that Koochiching County has also seen a significant increase in the cases of chlamydia and gonorrhea."

Genital ulcer in a vacationing patient - Cortlandt Forum

Genital ulcer in a vacationing patient - Cortlandt Forum: "Mr. L, 62 years old, came to see me about a superficial “sore” on the shaft of his penis. The sore had first appeared about a month ago while Mr. L was on a three-week visit to relatives in Florida. He thought his penis might have gotten stuck in his zipper. A physician in Florida had already prescribed two courses of antibiotics. The initial medication was a first-generation cephalosporin. When that treatment was unsuccessful, the physician recommended a tetracycline derivative, presumably to cover possible community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus."

St. Paul Legal Ledger

St. Paul Legal Ledger: "Early syphilis cases were up 40 percent in Minnesota in 2008, compared with a year earlier, and health officials are expressing concern over the rise.

Early syphilis, or infection of less than a year, is the most infectious stage of the disease.

Preliminary data from the Minnesota Department of Health show that 159 early syphilis cases were reported in 2008, compared to 114 cases in 2007. Of the cases in 2008, 97 percent were males, and new infections continued to be centered within the Twin Cities metropolitan area."

WTOL.com, Toledo's News Leader, News 11 | Cuyahoga County reports syphilis outbreak

"CLEVELAND (WTOL) - The Cuyahoga County Health Department and several doctors meet with the media members on Wednesday to address a Syphilis outbreak throughout the county.

Cuyahoga County has seen a 400 percent jump in Syphilis cases. Eighty reported cases in just the last eight months.

Doctors are concerned about an epidemic-type outbreak that's including more and more young people."

JAMA -- Penicillin Treatment of Syphilis: Clearing Away the Shadow on the Land, February 18, 2009, Douglas 301 (7): 769

"In the follow-up to a preliminary report on the use of penicillin for early syphilis, Mahoney and colleagues presented the promising posttreatment observations of the original patients studied for periods in excess of 300 days. They also reported information on the treatment of an additional 100 patients. The accompanying papers in the same issue of JAMA reported on the results obtained by the National Research Council's newly formed Penicillin Panel. Those preliminary results are presented for both early and late syphilis."

Beaumont Health Department reports large increase in syphilis cases | beaumont, department, health - Local News -

"A significant increase in the number of confirmed syphilis cases is prompting the Beaumont Public Health Department to urge people to get tested for syphilis if they've engaged in risky sexual behavior or have tested positive for any other sexually transmitted disease, including gonorrhea, chlamydia or HIV.

The Health Department says statistics indicate new infections reached 225 cases from January through December 2008, compared to 109 cases in 2007 and only 11 cases in 2006."

The Maneater – Minnesota health dept. finds increase in syphilis

"Preliminary data from the Minnesota Department of Health shows that the number of new syphilis cases in the state increased 40 percent from 2007 to 2008. But with 97 percent of the new cases seen in males, MDH officials are tying the rise to gay men, according to a news release.

The Department of Health reported that the new cases are centered within the Twin Cities metropolitan area, with over 23 percent of the new cases among 15-to 24-year-olds, but the University of Minnesota has yet to see the increase"