Homosexual men escalate syphilis rate

A recent survey conducted by the Centers for Disease and Control organization (CDC) reports that the syphilis rate has been increasing rapidly since the turn of the century. As CDC reports, the syphilis rate was decreasing substantially throughout the 1990’s and reached an all-time low in 2000. However, the syphilis rate has been increasing in the United States since then. From 2006 to 2007, the national syphilis rate increased 15.2 percent, from 9,756 to 11,466.

As reported, the syphilis rate among males is now six times greater then the rate among females which was nearly equivalent a decade ago. Males now make up 65 percent of all syphilis cases in the United States. Furthermore, African-Americans, who make up 12 percent of the U.S. population, accounted for almost 50 percent of all syphilis cases

CDC believes the increase in the syphilis rate is a result of males neglecting to use safer sex methods when engaging in sex with other males. Another factor that may be causing the increased rate is that males who have sex with other males often engage in frequently anonymous sexual encounters. It’s also important to note that syphilis can be transmitted through oral sex.

CDC estimates that almost 19 million new sexually transmitted infections occur each year, with almost half of those infections occurring among 15 to 24 year-olds. STDs cost the U.S. health care system as much as $15.3 billion annually.


[Michael Folkerts is an Ag-Econ Major at UNL]