Syphilis Cases Drop to Record Low Amid Efforts to Eradicate the Sexually Transmitted Disease

Syphilis infection dropped to an all-time low in the United States last year, with fewer than 6,000 cases reported nationwide, the government said today. The CDC said it recorded 5,979 cases, down nearly 10 percent from 1999. Syphilis cases are down 30 percent since 1997, when health officials announced a national plan to eliminate the disease. Syphilis incidence remains highly concentrated, with half of all US cases showing up in just 22 cities and counties -- mostly in the South, among poor blacks and Hispanics. Eighty percent of the nation's counties reported no cases of syphilis in 2000.

Although infections are on the rise among gay and bisexual men, particularly in large cities, other groups posted encouraging statistics. Mother-to-child syphilis transmission is down more than half since 1997, and the rate among blacks dropped 40 percent during the same period. The figures were released in Dallas at the start of a three-day conference on how public-private partnerships might help drive the syphilis rate down even further. The government has considerable work to do to reach its definition of "eliminating" syphilis -- fewer than 1,000 cases by 2005, with 90 percent of counties syphilis-free.

Back to other CDC news for November 28, 2001

Previous Updates