Oklahoma State Department of Health officials confirmed an outbreak of syphilis in Oklahoma County that has affected 80 residents over the past few months, according to a report from The Oklahoman.
The outbreak is one of the largest of its kind in recent state history. The primary risk factors identified in the outbreak include drug use, having multiple sex partners and exchanging sex for drugs or money. The majority of confirmed cases occurred among drug users, many of which reported using heroin or meth. The rise in syphilis cases coincides with a rise of drug overdose deaths in the state, according to the report.
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"I'll be quite honest with you, I've worked in STD services for about 13 years now, and we've never been able to connect this many cases to any infection and to an outbreak," said Kristen Eberly, who manages HIV and sexually transmitted disease services at the state health department, according to The Oklahoman. "It's the largest that I've seen."
There has been an increase in syphilis cases across the nation. In 2001, 6,103 cases of the sexually transmitted disease were reported in the U.S. The number of syphilis cases in the country jumped to 20,000 by 2014, according to The Oklahoman.
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