In Oregon, syphilis rates have been increasing each year since 2007. The good news is that syphilis can be treated and cured if you know you have it. The bad news is that, if you don’t know you have syphilis and don’t get treated, not only can you pass it on to your sex partners, but it can cause serious health problems. 

Anyone who is sexually active and exposed to syphilis can get the infection. We know that syphilis impacts some groups of people more than others. Among those most impacted by syphilis are guys who have sex with guys, people living with HIV, and people who use drugs, along with sexual partners of these different groups. A few years ago, syphilis cases were almost exclusively found in men. However, we are now seeing a steady increase in cases among women.