Syphilis spikes in Baldwin County prompts state to unveil billboard

FOLEY, Al.
The syphilis rate is spiking this year in Baldwin County, prompting the state to herald a cautionary message via billboard in Foley on Ala. 59, the main highway between the city and the beach.

The 45 reported new syphilis cases through Sept. 28 mark a five-fold increase from the number in all of 2010, according state data. In fact, those account for more than 10 percent of the syphilis reports statewide. The new billboard, visible to northbound motorists, features a photo of someone's palms in the second-stage of the disease.
The message, worded in English and Spanish: Know the Signs. Syphilis. It's curable & the test is free. Contact Your Local Health Department.
The rising incidence of syphilis caused the state to act, according to Mary McIntyre, assistant state health officer for disease control and prevention with the Department of Public Health. It can result in some really significant problems, McIntyre said, but it's completely treatable.
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum.
In recent years, Alabama has recorded the fifth-highest syphilis rate in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The primary stage of syphilis is usually marked by the appearance of one or more sores, known as a chancre, according to the CDC.
The chancre is usually firm, round, small and painless, and appears at the spot where syphilis entered the body. The chancre lasts three to six weeks, and vanishes without treatment. But if there is no adequate treatment, typically a shot of penicillin, the syphilis progresses.
Often in the second stage of infection, blisters may form on sections of the body, including the palm of the hand. Many of those infected show no symptoms for years, yet remain at risk for late complications and loss of brain function.
In Mobile County, the number of reported cases has fallen this year. There were 60 in 2010, then 29 through the end of September, state data shows.