SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Sangamon County health officials are reporting an increase in syphilis cases.
Jim Stone is director of the Sangamon County Department of Public Health. He tells the (Springfield) State Journal-Register that the county already has a higher rate of gonorrhea and chlamydia than the state average.
There were 12 reported cases of syphilis in 2013, followed by 29 in 2014 and a provisional number of 24 in 2015.
News of the uptick in the sexually transmitted infection was included in a regular health-issue reminder by the University of Illinois Springfield health service last week.
Stone says 40 percent of the county’s sexually transmitted infections are reported among teenagers 15 to 19.
