Pubdate: Sat, 02 Nov 2002
Source: High Point Enterprise (NC)
Copyright: 2002 High Point (N.C.) Enterprise
Contact:  http://www.hpe.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/576
Author: David Nivens
Note: The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/women.htm (Women)

CITY SEES INCREASE IN SYPHILIS

The latest report on the battle against syphilis in Guilford County is not 
good.

And that's not unexpected, either. Guilford is one of two North Carolina 
counties ranked among the worst in the nation for rates of syphilis 
infections, the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
reported Thursday.

By Friday, the news was making the rounds among health professionals who 
launched an education and prevention campaign against the disease in High 
Point earlier this year.

Robeson County leads the country with 73 cases per 100,000 population in 
2001, while Guilford County reported a rate of 16.6 cases per 100,000 
population, the sixth highest in the country last year and unchanged from 
the county's 2000 rate.

"We are working hard to stop syphilis, but it is hard," said Sam Parker, 
director of Triad Health Project, a nonprofit health agency battling the 
spread of all sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV. Nationally, the 
rate of syphilis infection in 2001 was 2.1 cases per 100,000 people, a 2 
percent increase from the previous year, according to the CDC. North 
Carolina's rate remained higher than the national average at 5.7 cases per 
100,000 people.

"It's hard to stop the spread when more people are still getting it," 
Parker said.

Health officials say the county's high rate is linked to the use of crack 
cocaine, which is higher than the national average. The sex-for-drugs trade 
also can contribute to increased infection rates.

"We are getting information out, but there are so many factors involved on 
why the rate stays high," Parker said.

The number of county syphilis cases rose slightly in 2001 to 118, up from 
113 in 2000. High Point had more of those cases than Greensboro. Within the 
last year, Guilford County health agencies have sponsored health fairs in 
an effort to raise awareness about the dangers of the sexually transmitted 
disease.

Education programs are aimed at changing sexual behavior.

"This is a social crisis as well," Parker said.

The national goal is to stop the sexually transmitted disease by 2005. 
Health officials formed a People Stopping Syphilis Today Task Force to 
combat the disease by reaching out to neighborhoods with confidential testing.

Last year, health officials pumped $182,000 into the campaign, including 
$50,000 in federal funds. The federal syphilis elimination project is 
providing more than $15 million to problem areas nationwide.

The United States is the largest industrial country that has not eradicated 
syphilis, according to the CDC.
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