The CDC recently posted the following warning: “Clinical Advisory: Ocular Syphilis in the United States/Since December 2014, at least 15 cases of ocular syphilis from California and Washington have been reported to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At least five other states have suspected cases under investigation. The majority of cases have been among MSM with HIV; and a few cases have occurred among HIV-uninfected persons including heterosexual men and women. Several of the cases have resulted in significant sequelae including blindness.” With the bulk of new syphilis cases nationwide appearing primarily in the gay male community; it’s no surprise that the homosexual capitals of LA and San Francisco have been hardest hit: in LA – there were 858 infections in 2009 and 1,299 in 2013; in San Francisco – there were 438 infections in 2009 and 814 in 2013. Interestingly, Portland, Oregon, which after San Francisco, has the largest percentage of gay residents in the US, also had a major jump in cases: with 53 infections in 2009 as compared to 240 in 2013.
