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Syphilis, appropriately dubbed “the great impostor,” often eludes early identification and treatment. Incidence in the U.S. reached an all-time low in 2000 but now is increasing, due in large part to a rise in cases among HIV-infected persons. Using data from national surveillance reports and previous studies, CDC investigators recently calculated primary and secondary syphilis incidence rates among HIV-infected adults in the U.S. in 2002. They provided separate estimates for three groups: women, men who have sex only with women (MSW), and men who have sex with men (MSM).
Of 6862 primary and secondary syphilis cases reported in 2002, 25% were estimated to have occurred in persons with HIV infection, for a rate of 186 cases per 100,000 HIV-in…