STDs remain a concern in region

Four months after an Allen County health alert raised the alarm of a syphilis outbreak for the whole region, new cases continue to be recorded at roughly the same rate, said Tami Gough, director of prevention and health promotion services for Allen County Public Health. In June, the county put out an alert that it had recorded 18 cases of syphilis so far in 2021, compared to eight in the same period last year. This included two pregnant individuals. Syphilis is particularly dangerous in pregnancy. Congenital syphilis — the spread of syphilis to a fetus during pregnancy — is potentially life-threatening for a baby. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website states that congenital syphilis can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, prematurity, low birth weight or death shortly after birth. Babies may be born blind or deaf, with deformed bones, or with severe anemia, enlarged liver and spleen, skin rashes or meningitis. Gough said Allen County hasn't seen recent new cases among pregnant women, but statewide, there have been 73 to date – compared with 49 in all of 2021. Congenital syphilis can be avoided if a pregnant woman who is positive for syphilis gets treated with antibiotics in time. In people who are not pregnant, syphilis generally starts with milder symptoms, if any. But some infected people who do not get treated go on to develop tertiary syphilis, which can affect the heart and blood vessels, the brain and other organ systems. This occurs 10 to 30 years after initial infection. Gough said she suspects the increase in cases is due to more high-risk activities, including more unsafe sex and drug use. Many of the Allen County cases are linked to clusters of methamphetamine users. But because it's a communicable disease, it can then spread into the population as a whole, she said. "If it's not treated, it will spread," she said. Gough said some men who have sex with men may not want others to know that they do so — but they, too, are at risk and should be tested. She urged the population as a whole to be aware of prevention. "Have safe sex," she said. "Use protection." And know your partners, she said. Many community members are using apps to find anonymous partners lately, she said. The syphilis outbreak is part of an increase in sexually transmitted diseases across Ohio and the nation. "In general, rates of sexually transmitted diseases have been rising nationally for the past several years, and Ohio has been no different," wrote Ken Gordon, public information officer for the Ohio Department of Health, in an email. The CDC reported in April that, while reported cases of STDs decreased in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, they then resurged. By the end of 2020, reported cases of gonorrhea and primary and secondary syphilis were up 10% and 7%, respectively, compared to 2019. Congenital syphilis increased nearly 15% from 2019 and 235% from 2016. Cases of chlamydia had declined 13% — but the CDC states that this is probably due to decreased screening and underdiagnosis, rather than fewer new infections. "The COVID-19 pandemic put enormous pressure on an already strained public health infrastructure," said Jonathan Mermin, M.D., M.P.H., Director of CDC's National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention. "There were moments in 2020 when it felt like the world was standing still, but STDs weren't. The unrelenting momentum of the STD epidemic continued even as STD prevention services were disrupted."