Syphilis and other STDs are on the rise. States lost millions of dollars to fight and treat them

State and local health departments across the U.S found out in June they’d be losing the final two years of a $1 billion investment to strengthen the ranks of people who track and try to prevent sexually transmitted diseases — especially the rapid increase of syphilis cases.

is that they're struggling to expand their disease intervention specialist workforce. These people do contact tracing and outreach, and are a key piece of trying to stop the spread of syphilis, which reached a low point in the U.S. in 2000 but has increased almost every year since. In 2021, there were 176,713 cases — up 31% from the prior year.

Disease intervention specialists often link infected mothers and their partners with care for syphilis, which has mild symptoms for adults, like fever and sores. Doing so in a timely manner can prevent congenital syphilis. The specialists also can help pregnant patients find prenatal care. The Houston Health Department is in the midst of what it calls a “rapid community outreach response” because of syphilis cases increased by 128% among women from 2019 to 2022, and congenital syphilis cases went from 16 in 2019 to 151 in 2021.

. Health officials said a combination of funding shortages and poor access to prenatal care compounds their ability to stop the spread of syphilis. “We were finally at the point where we were able to breathe again,” Scranton said, “and start really kind of tackling it.”

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