By Jules Suzdaltsev
Release the confetti! Blow the trumpets! Unroll the banner! San Francisco, as usual, is numero uno in the entire country when it comes to … wait, what? Syphilis? Yep. According to the CDC’s most recent STD rankings as compiled by Fusion.net, San Franciscans have more cases of syphilis than any other city in America. Join the ranks of Charles VIII of France, Hernán Cortés of Spain, Benito Mussolini, Ivan the Terrible, and Adolf Hitler. You know what they say, fun is contagious!
But seriously, although rates of syphilis are generally much lower than other STDs like gonorrhea and chlamydia, we still rule the roost with 18 cases per 100,000 San Francisco inhabitants, which was nearly twice our rate of infection in 2009. Of course, any densely populated metropolitan area is going to see its fair share of communicable diseases, and really we only had 25 more cases than the next metropolis on the list, Atlanta, GA. Cut us some slack, eh?
The important part for us city-dwellers is less so the excessive rate of infection, but the seriousness of the disease’s effects. Syphilis used to be responsible for early forms of dementia, and I’m sure you’ve heard old school stories about syphilitic writers and painters going crazy. That’s because not only does syphilis eventually cause paralysis, numbness, blindness, and eventually death, it takes a loooong time to manifest, sometimes decades after infection. Worse yet, the initial symptoms mimic relatively non serious skin diseases, so what might simply be written off as a rash could potentially end up destroying your brain and nervous system years later, thus leading to syphilis being nicknamed, “the great imitator.” The good news is it’s easily diagnosed with a blood test and treatable with a strong dose of penicillin.
The four stages of the disease begin with sores around the mouth or genitals, followed by rough rashes that may or may not itch. These symptoms could go away on their own, while the bacterium that causes the disease stays in your body. Years later, the third and fourth stages may manifest themselves in a number of ways, including soft, tumor-like inflammations ranging in size, and can found anywhere on the surface or within the body. Alternately, some cases present with neurosyphilis, which affects the central nervous system, and could lead to seizures, apathy, dementia, and a bunch of pretty nasty neurological complications that include severe pain and loss of function.
The bacteria that causes syphilis, Treponema pallidum, can be transmitted by kissing near an infected lesion, but mainly it’s passed along through oral, vagina, and anal sex. And transmission rates are shockingly high: 30–60% of those in contact with primary or secondary syphilis are liable to catch the disease.
What we’re really trying to say here is that if you’re sexually active, it’s a smart idea to get regularly tested for STDs — because it can be wildly irresponsible not to, even if you wear protection. Or, you know, you can be like syphilitic Ivan the Terrible and totally ignore our advice. Your call.
Got a tip for The Bold Italic? Email tips@thebolditalic.com.
