Michigan’s increasing rate of syphilis cases is one of the chief concerns as the state marks Sexually Transmitted Infections Awareness week.
Since 2013, syphilis rates have doubled. And since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the rate of infections has increased 25 percent.
State health department officials say contributing factors to the increase include limited access to screening and treatment complicated by COVID-19, stigma that limits open conversation about sexual health, substance use including opioids and changing patterns in how and where people meet sexual partners.
Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, Michigan’s chief medical executive, said the syphilis infection rate is growing fastest among heterosexuals.
Bagdasarian said syphilis infections among women is especially worrisome.
“We know that pregnant women are not getting tested to the degree we need them to get tested in order to detect cases of congenital syphilis,” said Bagdasarian, “Every case of congenital syphilis is preventable. So we really want to focus on preventing all of those cases.”
Congenital syphilis is when the infection is passed to a fetus during pregnancy.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services urges sexually active Michiganders to talk about their sexual health with their partners and get regular STI testing.
Chlamydia and gonorrhea remain the most common sexually transmitted infections in Michigan.
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