Strange Fruit

Once nearly eradicated in the United States, syphilis is back on the rise - mostly among gay and bisexual men. Rates reached an all-time low in 2000, and of the roughly 6,000 cases, only around 7% were among gay men; it was a concern almost exclusively for straight people. But better treatments for HIV lead to complacency about safe sex, perhaps especially among younger men who didn't witness the AIDS crisis of the 1980s first-hand. Now, men who have sex with men (known in medical research as MSMs) account for a full 91% of all national cases. And those nationwide numbers are reflected at home. In Louisville, rates jumped from 13.2 per 100,000 residents in 2009 to 27.7 in 100,000 - well above the national average of 18. Statewide, reported syphilis infections have almost doubled since 2009. To help explain why this is happening, and what can help, we talk this week with Dr. Kraig Humbaugh, Deputy Director of the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services. Dr. Humbaugh explains how exactly the disease is