Here are some engaging conversation starters to get you talking about your family’s Thanksgiving this year. Michigan health officials have identified an alarming cluster of syphilis infections in a woman’s eyes.
The first-of-its-kind cluster (all five women are linked to one infected man) suggests that a new strain of the syphilis bacterium more easily causes systemic syphilis, a disease that particularly affects the eyes and central nervous system. This increases the possibility of adaptation.a Cluster reporting and what it means It was announced today by Michigan Health Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Ocular syphilis, also known as ocular syphilis, is not new. syphilis bacteria, Treponema pallidum (Previously spirochete pallida) It is known that if left untreated, sexually transmitted infections can spread not only to the eyes but also to the inner ear and central nervous system. If left untreated, this spread can lead to blindness, hearing loss, and life-threatening neurosyphilis.
However, ocular syphilis is rare. Similar to inner ear syphilis and neurosyphilis, it is only seen in about 1 percent of syphilis cases, according to . A large-scale analysis published last year. When ocular syphilis occurs, it is most common in people with late-stage syphilis, people over 65 years of age, people who report injection drug use, and people who are HIV positive.
However, all five women in this cluster had early-stage infections. They were all between 40 and 60 years old, and none reported injection drug use. This ocular syphilis cluster was also the first documented to be associated with heterosexual transmission.
Cluster case
The chain of events began to unravel in March 2022, when the first woman, Patient A, was referred by her eye doctor to the Kalamazoo County Health and Community Services Department (KCHCSD). The woman complained of blurred vision, fear of blindness, and genital lesions. Tests revealed she had syphilis, but in the past 12 months she had only reported one sexual partner, a man she met online. The state health department contacted the man within a few days, but he declined.
A few weeks later, in April 2022, Patient B was admitted to the hospital with neurosyphilis. Her ophthalmologist identified an abnormality in her cranial nerves and sent her to the emergency room. There she reported her headache, mild hearing loss, blurred vision, and double vision. She gave the same name as her recent sexual partner reported by Patient A, and she said she also met him online.
In May 2022, Patient C was reported to a local health department in southwest Michigan. She had a rash all over her body, floaters in her eyes, photosensitivity, and cranial nerve abnormalities. She again reported the same partner as her patients A and B, whom she said they met online.
Patient D was diagnosed with ocular syphilis in June 2022 and again named the same partner. Then, in July 2022, patient E was admitted with ocular and neurosyphilis, again naming the same partner as in the other cases.
Between March and May, state health officials contacted a mutual male sexual partner multiple times. But he provided little information, saying he left the state and missed a medical appointment scheduled for April. After Patient C was identified in May, public health physicians reviewed the man’s electronic medical records and found that he had visited the hospital’s emergency department in January 2022 for ulcerated genital and anal lesions. There was found. At the time, he was treated for a presumed herpes infection, but the herpes test was negative and he was not tested for syphilis.
Public health impact
Also in May, state disease intervention specialists were able to make contact with the man again, and he showed up for an appointment at KCHCSD. During the examination, doctors noted that the man had no signs of syphilis and no visual or hearing problems. Laboratory tests confirmed that he had early latent syphilis. This is a stage of the disease that occurs within a year of the initial infection, when symptoms appear to have subsided, but the disease is still present. The man reported having had multiple sex partners in the previous year, but he declined to reveal his identity.
Patients B through E reported having other sex partners. Of those identified, health officials reported that they had tested negative for syphilis. Patient E was unable to identify any other partners and authorities were unable to contact them.
Given the strange nature of this cluster, Michigan health officials speculated that the man may have been infected with the virus strain. Palidum It is more likely than others to cause ocular syphilis and neurosyphilis. However, the bacterial strain could not be identified. Genetic testing for syphilis is most effective when there is a primary ulcer or moist lesion from which the bacteria can be wiped away. Only patient A had primary syphilis with genital involvement at the time of diagnosis.
The woman and man were all treated for their infections, and no other cases in Michigan have been linked to anyone in the cluster since then. With this fact, health authorities hope they have been able to stop the spread of this nefarious and unknown infectious disease. Palidum But it’s impossible to know that without more extensive monitoring and identification of all sex partners.
Even if there is no new alarming situation, Palidum The sexually transmitted disease situation in the United States is dire. Infection rates for sexually transmitted diseases such as syphilis, chlamydia, and gonorrhea have skyrocketed in recent years.in Report from the beginning of this yearthe CDC estimates that the number of syphilis cases in the country is 74% increase From 2017 to 2021. In 2022, the number of babies born with syphilis will be 10 times or more 2012 numbers.
