San Francisco Ranked No. 1 in Syphilis

San Francisco health officials have reported a 127 percent increase in syphilis cases for 2002. This allows the city to jump to first place nationally, ahead of Detroit, Atlanta, Newark, Baltimore, and Oklahoma City. The sharp increase is attributed to new cases involving homosexual white men. Officials are disturbed that two-thirds of the new cases are among HIV-positive men.

Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, director of sexually transmitted disease prevention and control at the San Francisco Department of Public Health, stated that the city spends $2 million a year on syphilis prevention. Efforts include testing, partner notification and a highly public marketing effort called the "Healthy Penis" program where bus shelter billboards depict cartoon characters of the male organ. It appears that homosexual men in the city aren't getting the message or they don't care.