Arizona Ranks Highest for New Cases of Syphilis

It is springtime everyone! Yes, the birds and bees are humming and buzzing around us. Here in Yavapai County, the waves of yellow and green pollen are floating gracefully through the air. Pollen is tree sperm, which is why it is so sticky and effective with pollination. Love, or lust, with mammals is also in the air.

This month, I want to highlight the state of Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) in Arizona. Arizona is No. 1 in the nation for new cases of syphilis, the multi-system bacteria that can make you blind, give you dementia or meningitis. Did you know that in lab animals they have found the syphilis virus in cerebral spinal fluid within hours of exposure? That is right folks, within the first stage of syphilis you can get neuro and ocular syphilis damage. In 2021, there were 166 babies born with syphilis and 10 died. Trust me, you do not want to be born with this bacterial infection. Forty percent of untreated syphilitic pregnancies will result in newborn death or a stillbirth. Babies who do survive childbirth will spend at least 10 days in a hospital and can suffer birth defects. This is curable in pregnant mothers and pregnant people. Arizona experienced a 39.49% increase in babies born with syphilis in 2021.

The highest group for all STIs (Sexually Transmitted Infections) is the ages of 14-24. Why is this? We are mammals. Next to our desire for survival, our second strongest hard-wired urge is reproduction. It is true. Let us think about the male or people with penises anatomy and function. Pre-seminal fluid or precum goes through the ureter before ejaculation so it can clean out any residual urine that may be in that tube. Why? Because urine can kill sperm. Urine’s pH is such that it can kill even the strongest swimming sperm. We, as mammals, are designed for reproduction. Hard-wired and designed for it. Literally.

Here are numbers of “reported” STIs and HIV in Arizona. I use the term reported because, the majority of STIs can be asymptomatic in 50% of men or people with penises and 75% of women or people with vaginas and vulvas.

In 2021, there were 41,460 reported cases of chlamydia, 18,381 reported cases of gonorrhea and 3,081 cases of syphilis. Out of these, there were 3,096 cases reported for males between the ages of 15-19 and 7,702 cases for females in the 15-19 age group. In 2021, there were 7,344 cases for males between the ages of 20-24 and 12,323 cases for females between the ages of 20-24. Females bear a 67.79% higher burden than males. This number may be higher for females because females are more engaged with getting annual Well Woman Examinations or Pelvic Examinations from a gynecologist.

Here in Yavapai County, the numbers still show the highest groups for getting all STIs are between 15-24. Here is the 2021 breakdown: There were 36 males between the ages of 15-19 who reported to have an STI, there were 122 females between the ages of 15-19, who reported to have an STI. In the age group of 20-24 there were 60 reported STI cases for males and 138 reported cases for females in this group. You need to factor that as many as 75% of women or people with vaginas will be asymptomatic and 50% of men or people with penises will also be asymptomatic, so these numbers are much higher.

Let us look at HIV. In 1988, 8% of new infections were females or people with vaginas. In 2020, there were 13% of new infections with only 16% being from Intravenous Drug Use. That means 84% of new infections in females or people with vaginas are from an unprotected sexual encounter. New cases among black/African American women have a 41% increase, Caucasian/white women a 20% increase, Hispanic women experienced a 44% increase in 2020. American Indian and Alaskan Native women had a 73% decrease in new HIV infections at the same time-period. Outstanding, ladies! In 2020, there were 603 reported new cases in males or people with penises and 93 females or people with vaginas. In this group 102 were black/African American, 38 were American Indian/Alaska Native, 279 were Hispanic, 20 were Asian, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, 246 were Caucasian/white and 11 were other. Hispanics make up 32% of Arizona’s population and make up 40% of all incident HIV cases reported in the state in 2020.

In 2020, there was one case of HIV among the 2-12 age group, 30 in the 13-19 age group, 111 in the 20-24 age group, 140 in the 25-29 age group, 128 in the 30-34 age bracket, 63 in the 35-39 age group, 58 in the 40-44 group, 55 in the 45-49, 41 in the 50-54 group, 42 in the 55-59 age group, 17 in the 60-6 age group and 12 in the 65+ age group. This virus is still affecting people across the age spectrum; it is an equal opportunist virus. It does not discriminate!

The highest group across all ethnicities are the MSM (men who have sex with men). This is not men who identify as homosexual or bisexual. These are men or people with penises who occasionally have sex with men. In 2020, 54% of all new HIV cases were MSM, 2.7% were from IDU (intravenous drug use), 5.7% were from both MSM and IDU, 6% were from HRH (High Risk Heterosexual) behavior, 24% were from no reported risk and 7.4% were perinatal/blood or another risk factor.

Get tested; help stop the stigma. Let us make Arizona No. 50 in new cases of syphilis and congenital syphilis. Encourage your pregnant friends and relatives to engage in prenatal care and services today! QCBN

By Hedda Fay

Hedda Fay is the community outreach and program developer for Northland Cares. In a former life, she worked in law enforcement and public mental health. Her passion today is educating people about their sexual health and prevention services to the community. Northland Cares is located at 3112 Clearwater Drive, Ste. A, in Prescott. For more information, call 928-776-4612.