COOK COUNTY COMMISSIONERS TO RESPOND TO ALARMING SYPHILIS STATISTICS THROUGHOUT CHICAGO AND COOK COUNTY
COOK COUNTY COMMISSIONERS TO RESPOND TO ALARMING SYPHILIS STATISTICS THROUGHOUT CHICAGO AND COOK COUNTY
Monica Gordon-Cook County Commissioner 5th District- will be joined by her fellow Cook County Commissioners, Cook County Health Physicians, and other healthcare advocates in presenting to the public the recent alarming statistics concerning Syphilis.
According to the Cook County Department of Public Health’s (CCDPH) 2020-2021 STI
Surveillance Report, published last year, “amid increases across the U.S., the number of
Primary and Secondary Syphilis (PSS) cases rose 66% from 2020 to 2021. The rates doubled in non-Hispanic-Black/African American persons, doubled in non-Hispanic Whites, and increased by 52% in Hispanic/Latinx persons. PSS rates are highest in west suburbs and those municipalities in the south bordering the City of Chicago. PSS rates increased 53% in men (sex at birth) and tripled in women (sex at birth).”
The CCDPH also reports that congenital syphilis cases more than doubled between 2020 and 2021, an especially worrisome trend considering that “Syphilis can look like so many other conditions. Providers must know how to diagnose, stage, and treat syphilis. Writing a prescription is not enough, many patients may also need additional support to
receive and complete treatment, including help paying for medications in some cases. Syphilis
is preventable, treatable, and curable with the right medications given at the right time.
"I'd like Cook County residents to understand this data actually impacts them whether they think it does or not. And, it's because STIs happen to everyone, regardless of socioeconomic, religious or ethnic background. Syphilis doesn't care who you are. “says Commissioner Gordon.
Physicians from the Cook County Department of Public Health will publicly outline the above-mentioned statistics and validate Commissioner Gordon’s request that a full in-depth analysis and report be developed immediately given the increasing trend throughout Cook County.
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