SALT LAKE COUNTY, Utah — Salt Lake County health officials reported an "alarming" increase of 800 percent in cases of women contracting the sexually transmitted infection syphilis.
Syphilis cases are migrating from primarily being found in men to women and women of childbearing age, said Lynn Beltran, Epidemiology Supervisor for the Salt Lake County Health Department.
“With babies who are born with congenital syphilis, that is a much more serious condition,” she said. “The neurological damage that has occurred is most likely to be permanent. It can result in sudden death in infants, or some babies may never leave the hospital.”
Prior to 2021, Salt Lake County would have about one to three female syphilis cases per year. Last year, the county had almost 30.
The STI cases are increasing with men too; the total number of cases was 227 last year, and this year, the Health Department has seen well over 300 and is on target to reach 400 cases by the end of the year.
The health department said from 2018-2022, Salt Lake County saw an 800 percent increase in disease among women.
Of those cases, 89 percent involved women between the ages of 15-44.
Broadening the data to all individuals in Salt Lake County, not just women, officials report from 2018-2022, the disease increased overall by 65 percent.
Numbers detailing the exact number of cases Utah's most populous county has seen were not made available by officials.
Officials said the data is particularly concerning as the majority of women contracting syphilis are of child-bearing age, which increases the risk of newborn syphilis in the community.
Syphilis during pregnancy can lead to stillbirth, miscarriage or neonatal death and surviving infants who don't receive the proper treatment can experience long-term health impacts such as blindness and deafness.
“In 2022, we saw our first case of syphilis in a newborn since 2008,” said Dr. Angela C. Dunn, executive director of SLCoHD. “Newborn syphilis is especially unfortunate because it’s completely preventable—we can keep newborns from suffering by ensuring women have affordable, convenient access to syphilis testing and treatment, as well as appropriate prenatal care.”
Syphilis is not always a sexually transmitted infection that women are tested for, said Solveig Christianson, a birth doula.
“Most places only offer gonorrhea or chlamydia tests for free or for an affordable price, and I don't think a lot of people even think to test for syphilis, so I do ask my clients if they've gotten a full panel,” she said. “Any disease increasing in women's bodies is horrifying because we know that women's bodies aren't treated and researched as equally, and so I feel worried that the treatment that women are getting, isn't enough to slow this number.”
Epidemiologists aren’t completely shocked by the new data, as it mirrors the nationwide increase.
“People are traveling to Utah, or they are moving to Utah and Salt Lake County, and bringing infection with them,” said Beltran. “I think that's probably one of the greatest sources of the increase.”
Other states have attributed injection drug use and needle-sharing to the increase in cases, she said.
“I do want people to get screened regularly,” said Beltran. “Have these conversations with your providers. Also condom use. Condoms are going to be really effective at protecting the transmission person to person.”
Syphilis symptoms range from unusual skin issues, like sores rashes and bumps, to patchy hair loss and even vision and hearing loss, she said.
Utah's data comes days after the national data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention called rising newborn syphilis cases "dire," with a nearly 32 percent increase in the last year.
The new report also found that a lack of timely testing and adequate treatment of pregnant women carrying the disease resulted in 88 percent of this year's cases, with communities of color being hit the hardest.
Testing is key in treating syphilis, which is a sexually transmitted infection. The disease is treatable with antibiotics but can become more dangerous the longer it is untreated.
