Los Angeles County to Look into Combating Syphilis Surge

Los Angeles County supervisors on Tuesday ordered health officials to study ways to combat a sudden surge of syphilis among gay and bisexual men. The unanimous vote ordered the health department to return with a report in two weeks. Michael Weinstein, president of the Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation, asked the supervisors to look into the problem and to approve a program for free condom distribution. Last year the supervisors approved such a program after declaring a syphilis outbreak, which they declared contained a few months later. "The previous county efforts have been inadequate," Weinstein said. "They declared the outbreak over too quickly."

Although the county's overall rate of syphilis is low, there has been a surge of reported cases among men who have sex with men. Dr. James Haughton, the county's medical director for public health, said there have been 97 cases of primary and secondary syphilis this year, down from 98 last year. More than half the reports have involved gay and bisexual men. The relatively high figures for this population may indicate better reporting, Haughton said. Previously, health care providers working with gay and bisexual men had been screening them for AIDS but not STDs. This year, county providers are also required to screen for syphilis.

The county responded to last year's outbreak with a $560,000 campaign involving condom distribution, testing and advertisements. That program has been replaced by targeted efforts, including a van that makes the rounds of gay bathhouses and sex clubs. The health department also plans to ask the county for additional funds for syphilis prevention and education, Haughton said.

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