Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2007. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Chicago Tribune - August 12, 2007
Julie Deardorffm, jdeardorff@tribune.com
"Syphilis is back!" warns a taillight ad on 65 CTA buses, part of a four-week public health campaign targeting the gay community in the Chicago neighborhoods of Lake View, Andersonville, Rogers Park and Edgewater.
The truth is, syphilis, a potentially fatal sexually transmitted disease, never completely left us. But "when people don't see a public-awareness campaign, they think [the disease] is gone," said Laurie Anderson, the syphilis elimination coordinator for the Chicago Department of Public Health. "Chicago still has one of the highest syphilis rates in the country."
In 2000, Cook County, including Chicago, had the highest number of cases in the U.S. But the number of cases in the city has dropped dramatically in the last decade, from 582 in 1995 to the all-time low of 267 in 2003 after the Syphilis Elimination Task Force launched a similar citywide campaign using CTA buses and trains, urging sexually active adults to get screened and practice safer sex.
After the campaign ended, though, syphilis rates begin rising, primarily among men who have sex with men and who engage in anonymous sex in bars, bathhouses and bookstores, and who use partners they met on the Internet, according to the health department.
The numbers began dropping again in 2006, but public health officials are not satisfied because they want it wiped out. Unlike HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, syphilis is easily detected with a simple blood test and can be treated with antibiotics.
"Our message is simple: If you're sexually active, make STD testing a regular part of your health-care routine," said health department Commissioner Terry Mason.
Syphilis, if left untreated, damages the heart and brain. The sores associated with it, meanwhile, can more than triple the chance of HIV transmission.
In addition to routine screenings, health officials stress knowing the symptoms.
Early on, you might have painless sores and swollen lymph nodes. Or you may be symptom-free but are still infectious and a threat to others. Second-stage symptoms include fever, fatigue, aches and pains, and loss of appetite. If it reaches the final and third stage undetected, you can have heart, brain and nervous-system problems.
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For more information and a list of free or low-cost clinics, got to gettestedchicago.com.
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