Rates of syphilis in Salt Lake County have surged by ‘alarming’ 800% in four years

Cases of syphilis have exploded by 800 percent in Salt Lake County, Utah
The large religious population shunning contraceptions could explain the surge

WHAT IS SYPHILIS?

Syphilis is a bacterial infection that is usually caught by having sex with an infected person.

It spreads through close contact with an infected sore, which usually happens during vaginal, oral or anal sex.

Infected pregnant women can pass the STI to their unborn babies, which can lead to miscarriages or stillbirths.

Syphilis can also be spread by sharing needles with an infected person.

Symptoms are not always obvious and may eventually disappear.

These could include:

Small, painless sores or ulcers on the penis, vagina, anus or around the mouth
Blotchy red rashes on the palms or soles of the feet
Small skin growths on women's vulvas or the anus
White patches in the mouth 
Fatigue, headaches, joint pain, fever and swollen lymph nodes

If untreated, syphilis can spread to the brain or elsewhere in the body and cause disabilities or death.

Treatment is usually an antibiotic injection into the buttocks or a course of tablets.

People can reduce their risk by using condoms during sex, a dental dam (plastic square) in oral sex and avoiding sharing sex toys.

Source: NHS Choices

The condition raises the likelihood of an infant suffering bone damage, anemia, jaundice, nerve damage, and meningitis.

SYPHILIS: The above map shows the % change in syphilis cases between 2017 and 2021. The disease is exploding across the US after reaching such low levels in 2001 that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggested it could be eradicated

Nearly half of the population of Salt Lake County is Mormon. The community highly discourages contraceptives such as condoms, which have been shown to prevent syphilis

The increase is consistent with national data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which has found STDs like syphilis and gonorrhea increasing year after year.

The surge could be due to a lack of access to contraceptives shown to reduce STD risk, like condoms, which are discouraged in the state’s largely religious population.

About 60 percent of Utah residents are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly known as the Mormon church. Just under half of those in Salt Lake County identify as Mormon.

According to state health data, syphilis cases in women increased by 800 percent between 2018 and 2022, multiplying from three cases to 27. Experts expect that number to double this year.

Of the cases, 89 percent were in women ages 15 to 44.

Syphilis is a bacterial infection that is usually caught by having sex with an infected person.

It spreads through close contact with an infected sore, which usually happens during vaginal, oral or anal sex.

Infected pregnant women can pass the STI to their unborn babies, which can lead to miscarriages or stillbirths.

Symptoms of syphilis may not always be obvious at first, and they could eventually disappear

Syphilis can also be spread by sharing needles with an infected person.

Symptoms are not always obvious and may eventually disappear. These include small or painless sores on the genitals, blotchy red rashes on the palms or soles of the feet, skin growths around a woman’s vulva or the anus, white patches in the mouth, fatigue, headaches, fever, and swollen lymph nodes.

Patients experience sores two to 12 weeks after exposure. These go away, but one to six months later, a rash erupts that covers the entire body.

Patients who fail to get their disease treated can also face tertiary syphilis, a serious disease where vital organs — including the heart and brain — are severely damaged.

If untreated, syphilis can spread to the brain or elsewhere in the body and cause disabilities or death.

The disease is diagnosed through a blood test and can be treated with an antibiotic administered via an injection

Treatment is usually an antibiotic injection into the buttocks or a course of tablets.

People can reduce their risk by using condoms during sex, a dental dam (plastic square) while having oral sex, and avoiding sharing sex toys.

The majority of cases being in women of childbearing age increases the likelihood of congenital syphilis, which occurs when an infected mother passes the STI to her baby during pregnancy.

Figures from the CDC found that 3,761 babies were born in the US with the condition in 2022, up from 335 in 2012