CDC Official: Syphilis Rates Among Gay Men Highest Since Before Start of HIV Epidemic

The rate of syphilis infection among homosexual men has increased to a level not seen since the start of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, an official with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Capitol Hill Wednesday.

“We’re concerned about our high levels of syphilis among men who have sex with men – really we’re back to the level of disease – burden of disease – in gay men that we were seeing before HIV in this country,” said Gail Bolan, director of the CDC’s Division of STD Prevention.

She was speaking at an event held to lobby for federal funding to fight sexually transmitted diseases in the United States.

A CDC fact sheet on sexually-transmitted disease (STD) surveillance in 2014 refers to a “troubling rise in syphilis infections among men, particularly gay and bisexual men” . . .

“Men who have sex with men (MSM) account for 83 percent of male cases where the sex of the sex partner is known,” the fact sheet states. “Primary and secondary syphilis are the most infectious stages of the disease, and if not adequately treated, can lead to long-term infection, which can cause visual impairment and stroke.” (Read more from “CDC Official: Syphilis Rates Among Gay Men Highest Since Before Start of HIV Epidemic” HERE)

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