Rare spike in syphilis in Monterey County

Syphilis is one of the most serious sexually transmitted diseases. It’s a bacterial infection that can spread all over the body.A rare spike in the disease in Monterey County has health leaders concerned.

According to the Monterey County Health Department, in 2009 there was only one case of early syphilis in the county. In 2014, there were 44 cases and county health leaders said they expect that number to go up.

“This is a trend that we’re very concerned about and want to make sure that people know they need to be screened for this disease that they may not even have heard of,” said Kristy Michie.

Michie has been studying STD trends in Monterey County. She found that the biggest increase is among women from age18 to 44.

She said this is concerning “because that’s the group that we would expect to be having children.”

Michie said 40 percent of babies die during pregnancy if the mother has syphilis. Shesays all woman need to be tested for STDs in the first trimester of their pregnancy. But why the increasein syphilis?Michie has a theory.

“As new drugs have become available to treat HIV some of the younger generation don’t see the serious consequences of STDs,” said Michie.

During the 1980s, people feared HIV and practiced safe sex. But now Michie thinks that awareness has died down and more adults aren’t having safe sex, leading to the spread of less common STDs like syphilis.