Dept. of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention, Division of STD Prevention
Abstract
"In recent years, reports of outbreaks and increased numbers of primary and secondary syphilis cases among men who have sex with men have been documented and characterized by high rates of HIV co-infection and high-risk sexual behavior.8-12 For the first time in several years, the number of cases among women increased in 2004, and the male to female (M:F) ratio decreased in 2005,2,13 suggesting that heterosexuals may be increasingly infected with syphilis. Additionally, a substantial proportion of early syphilis cases is from correctional facilities,14 in which high rates of reactive serologies and disease are known to occur,15-18 particularly in areas experiencing heterosexual syphilis epidemics.14-16 Information from both case reports and STD Prevalence Monitoring Projects is important for STD prevention, treatment, planning, and evaluation activities. In this era of evidence-based public health, the use of data to inform, evaluate, and modify interventions and other activities is critical to best prevent syphilis. To that end, this Syphilis Surveillance Report consists of national and state profiles that contain and describe figures and tables, which provide an overview of syphilis morbidity in the United States. These profiles present adult and congenital syphilis trends and other statistics in the United States through 2005 and are based on case reports from the 65 sexually transmitted disease (STD) project areas. Case report data are the foundation of surveillance systems, which are operated by state and local health department STD control programs." -- p. 4.Division of STD Prevention."December 2006."State profiles available here: http://www.cdc.gov/std/Syphilis2005/default.htm not included in Adobe Acrobat pdf version.Also available via the World Wide Web.Includes bibliographical references (p. 12)
