Syphilis cases on the rise

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Nationally, cases of sexually transmitted infections have been on the rise. Kentucky ranks roughly 33 out of 50 for new cases of STIs. But the Commonwealth has seen a 2% rise in cases of syphilis since 2022.

Though on the rise nationally, doctors and the Centers for Disease Control are raising the alarm about the infection due to the possibility of infants contracting the disease from their mothers, known as congenital syphilis.

Some of the rise is due to a lack of testing through the years of the COVID-19 Pandemic when many people were wary of entering medical facilities unless absolutely necessary. Couple this with many people neglecting to use protection has given rise to a growing number of infections between heterosexual couples. Previously, the infection had seen a majority of cases in gay and bisexual men.

Kim Dethridge, an obstetrician and gynecologist with Med Center Health, believes that testing is the solution to the issue.

“The highest bracket with syphilis is going to be those of childbearing age. And when a woman is pregnant, we’re really concerned about congenital syphilis is where the mom passes the infection to the baby. And if there is congenital syphilis that infant can be born with the multitude of problems with their brain, their vision, their heart. They can have defects and those natures with those systems. So that’s very important to have that screening and to be aware of that,” Dethridge said.