By Margaret Ramirez
STAFF WRITER
March 7, 2002
Reported cases of syphilis more than doubled in the city from 2000 to 2001, mostly among men - prompting concern of a possible resurgence of the HIV epidemic, health officials said.
Preliminary data from the city Department of Health for last year found that there were 282 reported cases of primary and secondary syphilis in New York City, a significant jump from the 117 cases reported in 2000. The reported cases marked an increasing trend that began in 1999, health officials said.
Of the 282 syphilis cases reported, 93 percent occurred among men; and approximately 43 percent of those cases were men who had sex with men, health officials said.
Officials from the city Department of Health presented the preliminary syphilis findings yesterday at the National STD Prevention Conference in San Diego. The conference was co-sponsored by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Social Health Association.
Nationwide, syphilis cases have dropped, reaching an all-time low of 5,979 infections in 2000. But, at the same time, several cities have reported syphilis outbreaks among gay males including New York, Seattle, Chicago, Los Angeles and Miami.
Syphilis can be transmitted through direct contact with a syphilis sore during sex. A single sore usually marks the disease's primary stage; the disease can progress to secondary stage when one or more areas of the skin break into a rash. A person can easily pass the disease to sex partners in primary or secondary stage. Syphilis usually can be cured with penicillin.
Susan Blank, assistant commissioner of the Health Department's STD Control Program, said the syphilis outbreak in New York involves men having sex with men, many of whom also are infected with the HIV virus.
The high proportion of men with both infections is of concern because syphilis increases the risk of transmitting HIV.
"In response to this trend, the Health Department has initiated a number of activities to interrupt syphilis transmission," Blank said.
One study is already underway at the Callen-Lorde Community Health Center in Chelsea. Dr. Dawn Harbatkin, medical director, said the health department is developing a control group of about 100 gay men to gain insight on how to prevent the disease.
"Negotiating a sexual encounter is a complicated process. And the numbers show that the prevention messages aren't working," Harbatkin said. "We have to go back to the drawing board and start over." Copyright ) 2002, Newsday, Inc.
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