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CDC plans fight against STDs Posted 12-14-98 Government officials have issued a battle cry against syphilis, hoping to eventually wipe out the sexually transmitted disease in the United States. Rates of both syphilis and gonorrhea have sharply declined to the lowest levels ever nationwide, according to a new report issued by the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, a number of cities in the South and Northeast continue to have high rates of both diseases. Presented at the National STD Prevention Conference in Dallas last week, the CDC report shows that about one-half of syphilis cases are reported by only 1 percent of counties nationwide. "At no time in history have the prospects for eliminating syphilis been better," said Jeffrey Koplan, MD, MPH, CDC director. "We have the rare opportunity to add syphilis next to malaria and cholera on the short list of diseases we have beaten in the United States." To target problem regions, the CDC ranked the top 15 cities battling higher-than-average rates of syphilis and gonorrhea. Baltimore topped the list, with a gonorrhea infection rate of 991 per 100,000 people last year, compared with a nationwide rate of 123 per 100,000, according to the CDC. Syphilis rates averaged 99 per 100,000 in Baltimore compared with a national average of three per 100,000. "Although we do rank No. 1 in gonorrhea, we have cut it in half from 12,800 cases to 6,300 in the last five years," said Peter Beilenson, MD, MPH, Baltimore city health commissioner. He pointed to a large population living below the poverty line and inner-city drug use as possible reasons for the high rate. "In the last year alone we’ve cut syphilis by at least 30 percent," he added. The city plans to continue hiring more disease trackers and clinicians and expanding a major educational campaign aimed at reaching healthcare providers as well as citizens. "Provider education has been very important," Beilenson said. Other cities appearing on the CDC’s list: Washington, D.C.; St. Louis; Atlanta; Detroit; Richmond, Va.; Newark, N.J.; Norfolk, Va.; New Orleans; Memphis, Tenn.; Oklahoma City; Birmingham, Ala.; Chicago; Nashville, Tenn.; and Milwaukee. Related Sites |
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