 | By Marie Szaniszlo
http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=56646
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Soaring syphilis rate ends decade of decline in Hub
By Marie Szaniszlo
Wednesday, December 1, 2004
After a decade of decline, Boston now has one of the nation's
highest syphilis rates, according to federal statistics.
At least 69 cases, or 11.5 per 100,000 people, were reported
last year, giving the city the sixth highest rate in the nation,
after San Francisco, Atlanta, Baltimore, Detroit and Newark,
respectively, according to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.
Last year's rate represents a 43.8 percent increase over the
previous year, when the CDC ranked Boston 16th in the country.
In 2001, the city ranked 28th.
John Auerbach, executive director of the Boston Public Health
Commission, attributed much of the steady rise to a 37 percent cut
in state funding over the past three years in AIDS prevention,
treatment and services, which had helped educate people about the
dangers of risky ual behavior.
Other reasons for the increase could be advances in AIDS
treatment, which ironically may have led some people to be
generally less cautious, said Dr. Kenneth Mayer, medical research
director at the Fenway Community Health Center, which treats many
of the men who are believed to make up the bulk of new syphilis
cases.
Recent CDC research suggests that more than 60 percent of the
7,177 syphilis cases reported last year involved men having
with men.
Mayer recommended that anyone who is ually active be tested
at least once a year. For information about free screenings, log on to
http://www.gettestedboston.org
or contact the Public Health Commission at
617 534 5264
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By Marie Szaniszlo
http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=56646
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