- March 6th, 2008, 11:10 am
#162676
Area syphilis outbreak detectedhttp://www.newsadvance.com/servlet/Sate ... 5182&path=
Syphilis, a sexually transmitted disease that's been scarce in the area for years, has surfaced in the Central Virginia Health District.
The number of cases, enough to be classified as an outbreak, has prompted the intervention of the Virginia Epidemiological Response Team of the state Department of Health.
The first-time infections appeared in 2005 in two patients, said Tangye Harris, regional supervisor for the epidemiological response team, or VERT.
New cases rose to seven in 2006, and to 26 by 2007. That's considered an outbreak of the bacterial infection.
"That's what the concern is in this area now," Harris said.
Those new cases, explained Yvonne Walker, district lab manager, are among 58 cases positive for syphilis from October 2006 through February 2008 in the district, which includes Lynchburg and the counties of Amherst, Appomattox, Bedford and Campbell.
The other cases are people treated for syphilis in the past -either in the district or another area of the state - who have become re-infected, Walker said.
The response team came to Lynchburg in October.
The demographics show the positive cases are in patients ranging from 19 or younger to 79 years old. Most cases are occurring in women aged 20-29. The second-highest numbers are equal - men aged 30-39 and women aged 40-49.
From Bill Simmons:
See " The Sneeze" time stamp - 7:45
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/st ... ons/090903
See " The Sneeze" time stamp - 7:45
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/st ... ons/090903
- By LU Armchair coach
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