Doctors warn of syphilis cases rising in the Pine Belt

PINE BELT, Miss. (WDAM) - Doctors are warning that counties in the Pine Belt are seeing a high rate of syphilis cases.

According to the most recent CDC report, Forrest County has an infection rate of 95 for every 100,000 people compared to a rate of 35 for every 100,000 in Hinds County.

Forrest County and Pine Belt - hot bed of syphilis in MS. Forrest Co rate almost 3x higher than Hinds! Docs and providers - think about syphilis in your patients.
Check county STD rates - https://t.co/kyEYK5T2Ca @msdh @MSMA1 @hburgamerican @HburgClinic pic.twitter.com/9p5Vxz2Ciz
— thomas dobbs (@TCBPubHealth) May 15, 2023

Steffany Bedwell is a nurse practitioner at TrustCare here in the Pine Belt. She says the spread could be largely due to a lack of awareness.

“They may not have any symptoms at the time,” said Bedwell. “It usually starts with a painless sore or ulcer, but some people never know that they have it. And they don’t have any symptoms for a while. They may have a rash that will show up later, but they are still contagious.”

The cases in Forrest County are most common in adults ages 25-29.

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