Alaska health officials report as of Oct. 22, 75 cases of infectious syphilis have been reported to the Alaska Section of Epidemiology (SOE) during 2018. This is the largest syphilis outbreak to have occurred in Alaska in at least four decades.
Eighty-five percent of cases were in Anchorage and nearly nine out 10 were reported in men.
Of the males, 83% (55/66) reported being gay, bisexual, or other men who have sex with men (MSM). Of the 9 reported infectious syphilis cases in women, 8 were of childbearing age and 2 were pregnant at the time of diagnosis. A probable case of congenital syphilis was diagnosed in an infant born in March 2018.
SOE recently requested assistance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to help with response efforts.
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