Report cites increase in cases of syphilis

There's also been an increase in the number of new cases of HIV.
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Syphilis cases have jumped 59 percent in Ohio since the state handed off its prevention program to local health departments four years ago, The Plain Dealer reported Sunday.
No one is saying that the shift is the reason why rates rose, and syphilis cases nationally have increased since 2001 after falling in the 1990s.
But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned Ohio about five years ago about shifting prevention programs to local health departments. CDC officials worried that rising syphilis rates would mean an increase in the number of people infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, because a rise in HIV infections often follows other sexually transmitted disease epidemics.
The number of new HIV cases has climbed 12 percent, from 916 to 1,000, between 2000 and 2003, the most recent year for which statistics are available. From 2000 to 2005, the number of syphilis cases increased from 302 to 480.
Lost funds
Meanwhile, since 2000, the state has lost nearly $1 million in prevention money and the number of disease investigators has fallen from 26 to 22 statewide.
The change to local health departments de-emphasized the role that CDC officers played in investigating an outbreak, said Juliet Dorris-Williams, a former state health official who oversaw HIV and STD prevention.
"They called it a blitz," said Dorris-Williams, who left the agency in 2001. "They'd go in and set up this structure of testing people, treating people and finding contacts. ... When I left, they were talking about syphilis eradication."
Deborah Arms, chief of prevention for the state health department, said she does not think the shift is responsible for the increase. And several city health department officials say taking over prevention duties has worked well.
"We are able to jump on a problem much, much quicker," said Neil Altman, the Youngstown health director.
A comeback regardless
Bernard Young, HIV program coordinator for the Cincinnati Health Department, said syphilis was making a comeback regardless of how disease prevention was handled.
Managers of several urban prevention programs say increases are related to methamphetamine use, which boosts sexual appetite and performance. The crystallized form is popular among gay men.
"Crystal meth plays itself quite clearly in the HIV infections and syphilis infections," said Bill Tiedemann, who oversees AIDS services for the Cleveland Health Department.
Local health officials say staffing is adequate, even in Columbus where the number of cases has gone from 104 in 2000 to 208 in 2004, according to the most recent city statistics. About half the cases were tied to the city's gay community.