That’s the credo of Elizabeth Glaser, a public health nurse for the Indian Health Service, who drives thousands of miles throughout the Navajo Nation searching for community members with the infection.
While other reportable sexually transmitted infections declined or remained flat during the pandemic, over 207,000 cases of syphilis were reported in 2022, an 80 percent increase since 2018 and the highest number reported since 1950.
Most disturbing within this trend is the rise in congenital syphilis.
Over 3,700 cases were reported in 2022, which is more than double the number of cases of mother-to-child transmission of H.I.V.
To tackle congenital syphilis, we must cast off societal squeamishness about S.T.I.s and invest in proven control strategies: public education, testing, treatment and contact tracing.
Persons:
Elizabeth Glaser, they’re, Glaser
Organizations:
Indian Health Service
Locations:
United States