County |
Syphilis Rates |
Those at Risk for
Syphilis |
Hinds
MS
|
Early syphilis morbidity rates have decreased
from a 1991 high of 102.3 per 100,000 population to less than 50
per 100,000 by 1995. |
Those aged mid-20s to late 30s.
Low-income African Americans.
Exchanging sex for crack cocaine (professional prostitutes are
not seen as at high risk for syphilis as crack addicts).
Men who have sex with men.
Males and females are considered equally at risk.
|
Humphreys
MS
|
Early syphilis prevalence rates in Humphreys
County increased from 1991 to 1994 to a peak of 302 cases per 100,000
population. The 1995 rate dropped to 207.1 per 100,000 population. |
Those aged mid-20s to late 30s.
Low-income African Americans.
Crack cocaine use and exchange of sex for drugs.
Patterns of increased teenage sexual activity.
|
Richland
SC
|
Early syphilis morbidity has remained
relatively stable in Richland county between 1991 and 1995, with
prevalence rates varying between 61.2 per 100,000 population and
49.3 per 100,000. |
Low-income African Americans (some reporting
bias suspected).
Homeless and indigent people.
Inmates in corrections institutions.
People exchanging sex for crack cocaine.
Homosexual men.
Women in their early 30s involved in serial monogamy.
|
Orangeburg
SC
|
After a 1992 peak of 147.4 cases of early
syphilis per 100,000 population, the 1995 rate dropped to 16.5 per
100,000. |
Lower income African Americans at greater
risk than whites, but syphilis also appearing in higher socioeconomic
strata.
Teens engaging in unprotected sex with multiple partners (but
gonorrhea, chlamydia, or trichomoniasis more likely).
Crack cocaine use has decreased along with syphilis rates, but
many treated for repeat syphilis infections are crack users.
|
Shelby
TN
|
Early syphilis morbidity has declined
steadily in Shelby County between 1991 and 1995, with prevalence
rates reduced from a 1991 high of 158.8 per 100,000 population to
less than 60 per 100,000 by 1995. |
African Americans between the ages of
20 and 29, especially those living in high-poverty areas.
Most respondents cited sex-for-crack cocaine exchanges as an
important risk factor for syphilis.
Men and women are equally affected.
Commercial sex workers viewed as more likely to take care of
themselves medically than crack addicts.
|
Tunica
MS
|
After a 1991 peak of 444.7 cases per 100,000
population, the early syphilis rate dropped to as low as 25 per 100,000
in 1993, and then back up to 285 per 100,000 the following year.
The 1995 rate dropped to about 79 per 100,000 population. |
African Americans between the ages of
15 and 30, especially those exchanging sex for crack cocaine.
Lack of recreation for teens has led to high levels of unprotected
sexual activity, often with multiple partners. Poverty viewed
as a risk factor, with improved economic conditions being credited
with a decline in syphilis morbidity.
|
Montgomery
AL
|
Early syphilis morbidity declined sharply
in Montgomery County between 1990 and 1992, with prevalence rates
reduced from a 1991 high of 182.6 per 100,000 population to less
than 60 per 100,000 by the next year. The rate has continued to decline
from 1992 to 1995. |
Drug users.
Teenagers (although syphilis more common among those in their
mid-20s to late 30s).
African Americans in low-income areas.
Professional prostitutes, in contrast to crack users trading
sex for drugs, are not thought to be at high risk for syphilis.
|
Lowndes
AL
|
After a 1991 peak of 165.4 cases per 100,000
population, the 1995 rate of early syphilis has dropped to 16 per
100,000 population in Lowndes County. |
Low-income African Americans in their
20s and 30s.
Teen promiscuity was as strongly emphasized as sex-for-drugs
exchanges (although teens are more likely to report with gonorrhea
than syphilis).
Patterns of serial monogamy.
|