Ingham County reports syphilis outbreak appears under control

Marcus Cheatham, spokesperson for the Ingham County Health Department, said Thursday that an outbreak of syphilis in the county appears to be under control.

Michigan Messenger reported in May that Ingham County had classified an alarming increase of cases of the age-old sexually transmitted infection as an “outbreak.” At that time, the county had 10 cases of primary or secondary syphilis, and another eight cases that were in the latent or third stage. In June, the county reported 20 cases of primary or secondary syphilis, and July saw only one more confirmed case.

Ingham County began ringing the alarm bell about the potential for an outbreak in February, when it had already detected as many cases since January as the county had seen in all of 2008.

Syphilis is a bacterial infection that causes three stages of disease. In the first stage, an infected person will develop a chancre, or ulcer, where the bacteria have entered the skin. The chancre is sometimes painful and sometimes not. It will eventually go away without treatment. The second stage includes a rash on the hands and feet, and this too will clear up without treatment. The final stage, which can occur years later, includes the bacteria attacking internal organs, including the heart, liver, kidneys and brain.

The first and second stages of infection are consider contagious. It is easily treated with antibiotics.

Cheatham said the county believes it has brought the outbreak under control by offering antibiotics to people with a high likelihood of exposure and infection. The county treated an additional 29 people who were likely exposed, bringing the total number of people treated for the syphilis outbreak in the county to 50. Treating people who may have been exposed to the bacteria helps shrink the pool of likely hosts for the infection.

In Kent County, which also reported an increase in reported cases, the numbers continue to climb, said Bridie Kent, the Kent County Health Department’s spokesperson.

In May, Kent said the county had eight confirmed cases. As of last week, the county had 17 confirmed cases of primary and secondary syphilis infections. All of the cases were in the men who have sex with men community, and seven of the cases were co-infected with HIV.

In an email to Michigan Messenger, Kent said the county has a procedure in place to address those who might have been exposed to the bacteria:

Our process for partners is to test and treat with bicillin as soon as we can see them. If the test comes in positive, [Kent County Health Department] clinic staff follows up with that patient.

Kent said about 75 people had been counseled and treated for exposure to the bacteria.

Kent and Ingham are not the only Michigan counties to struggle with a recent outbreak of the ancient disease. Genesee County officials dealt with an outbreak in 2008 that eventually claimed more than 100 cases of syphilis.