This image shows treponema pallidum, the bacteria that cause syphilis. (Courtesy Photo / NIAID)

This image shows treponema pallidum, the bacteria that cause syphilis. (Courtesy Photo / NIAID)

Syphilis infections are surging in Alaska

A variety of forces are leading to the increased numbers.

A future with more sexually transmitted diseases could be on the horizon for Alaskans.

According to Alaska’s Department of Health and Social Services website, Alaska’s syphilis cases were “high and rising” before the pandemic struck, a trend that has public health officials worried.

“It’s so crazy,” said Susan A. Jones, an Anchorage-based public health nurse consultant and Department of Health and Social Services HIV/STD Program Manager.

During a phone interview last month, she said that Alaska is seeing its highest syphilis case counts in the state’s history. Though 2020 numbers weren’t final at the time of the interview, she said that there were already over 300 cases reported.

Cases previously more than doubled from 114 reported to the state in 2018 to 242 in 2019, according to state data.

In addition, she said that the state was closing in on 10 cases of congenital syphilis. Congenital syphilis occurs when an infected mother passes the infection on to her newborn during birth.

“The most we’ve seen before is two,” she said. “The increase is significant on many levels.”

The reasons for the increasing infections are varied, Jones said.

“As people get COVID weary, they’ve increased sexual connections,” she said, noting reports that online dating apps are making it easier for people to meet new partners when traditional avenues are less available.

City announces vaccination clinic dates

Jones said many people are skipping routine health care to avoid possible exposure to the virus when visiting a clinic. As fewer people visit public health clinics, fewer condoms are distributed, and other preventive measures become more complicated, she said. When people do visit, she said that a shortage of testing kits has made it more difficult for people to get tested.

“We’ve had a shortage of testing kits as many of the swabs have been purloined for COVID-19 testing,” she said.

Additionally, disease intervention specialists have been reassigned to COVID-19 mitigation and contract tracing. Jones said many of the people with syphilis infections live in unstable housing situations, making contract tracing more difficult.

Juneau public health officials could not be reached for comment on the local situation.

However, Tanya Pasternack, Alaska Medical Director for Planned Parenthood, issued a statement echoing the statewide concerns.

City and Borough of Juneau reports no new COVID-19 cases

“Alaska is a nationwide leader in poor indicators of sexual and reproductive health, leading the nation in chlamydia, and second for gonorrhea. The syphilis rate has more than doubled in the state. This is a public health crisis and must be addressed,” she said in the statement Thursday.

In 2019, Planned Parenthood administered 18,506 tests for sexually transmitted infections to people in Alaska, according to the statement.

“Access to contraception and reproductive health care has grown more difficult in the pandemic, with Black and Hispanic women facing the worst barriers. COVID is serious and threatens our physical and mental health. Latinx, Black, Asian and American Indian/Alaskan Native communities are suffering in disproportionate numbers. While difficult, our doors have remained open to provide non-COVID-related, important health care to our communities in Alaska. We will continue to do so,” Pasternack said.

What’s the difference between a sexually transmitted infection and a sexually transmitted disease?

According to Jones, a sexually transmitted infection is an infection that sets up the environment for disease. A sexually transmitted disease is the disease process that can unfold due to a sexually transmitted infection, especially if the infection is not treated.

She said that serious complications, such as infertility, can accompany sexually transmitted diseases.

“I want to stress that it’s safe to get tested,” Jones said.

• Contact Dana Zigmund at dana.zigmund@juneauempire.com or 907-308-4891.

More in News

Sockeye salmon caught in a set gillnet are dragged up onto the beach at a test site for selective harvest setnet gear in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, July 25, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Board of Fish proposals center on king salmon, east side setnet fishery

Many proposals describe changes to the Kenai River Late-Run King Salmon Management Plan

Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion
Senior Prom King and Queen Dennis Borbon and Lorraine Ashcraft are crowned at the 2023 High Roller Senior Prom at Aspen Creek Senior Living in Kenai, Alaska, on Friday, Sept. 22, 2023.
Senior prom crowns king and queen

In brainstorming options, the concept of putting on a prom turned some heads

A photo distributed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation shows a man who allegedly robbed the Global Credit Union branch located in Anchorage, Sept. 19, 2023. Tyler Ching, 34, was arrested last week on charges related to robberies at the credit union and an Anchorage bank. (Photo courtesy Federal Bureau of Investigation)
Alleged bank robber arrested in Cooper Landing

An Anchorage resident was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in… Continue reading

A seal rescued earlier this summer by the Alaska SeaLife Center awaits release on the North Kenai Beach in Kenai, Alaska, on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
2nd harbor seal release draws large crowds

The seals were Pierogi, Pringle and Belle de Fontenay

Attendees search the waters of the Kenai River for sightings of Cook Inlet belugas during Belugas Count! at the Kenai Bluff Overlook in Kenai, Alaska on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Belugas Count! celebrated in Kenai

At a viewing station on Kenai’s bluff overlook, dozens gathered and peered out over the Kenai River during a morning session

Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Finance Director Elizabeth Hayes, left, gives a presentation on the school district’s FY23 budget at Soldotna High School on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2021, in Soldotna, Alaska. Hayes during the KPBSD Board of Education’s Sept. 11, 2023, meetings, debuted first of an informational “Budget 101 Series.” (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
School district warns of looming $13 million deficit in first ‘Budget 101’ presentation

The first installment explored Alaska’s foundation formula

Clockwise from bottom left: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Alaska Division Commander Col. Jeff Palazzini, Gov. Mike Dunleavy, Kenai Mayor Brian Gabriel, Kenai City Manager Terry Eubank and Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Michael Connor participate in a signing ceremony for a project partnership agreement for the Kenai Bluff Stabilization Project at the Kenai Senior Center on Monday, Sept. 25, 2023, in Kenai, Alaska. (Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Bluff stabilization agreement signed

The agreement allows the project to go out to bid and construction to begin

Lyndsey Bertoldo, Penny Vadla and Jason Tauriainen participate in a Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education candidate forum at the Soldotna Public Library in Soldotna, Alaska, on Monday, Sept. 25, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
School board candidates tackle budget deficits, home-schooling, school maintenance

The discussion was the first of two forums featuring KPBSD school board candidates

Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion
Brad Snowden and Julie Crites participate in a Seward City Council candidate forum at the Seward Community Library in Seward on Thursday.
Seward council candidates discuss issues at election forum

Participating in Thursday’s forum were Julie Crites and Brad Snowden

Most Read