Outbreak

Jan Fox, director of HIV/STD service at the state Health Department, said her colleagues first noticed an increase in cases of syphilis in the Oklahoma County area around the start of the year. As time went on, they began to realize the magnitude of new diagnoses and connected them to a specific social network between the ages of 14 and 47.

In late March, officials declared an outbreak in Oklahoma County, with more than 75 people diagnosed in the past few months.

Most of the patients who were interviewed reported drug use. Fox believes substance abuse is partly fueling Oklahoma’s onslaught of syphilis cases.

“I do think we’re seeing in all parts of the state, including Tulsa, that drugs — and the business of doing drugs — is really behind the syphilis spread,” she said.

“In other words, exchanging sex for drugs or for money, or when a person is under the influence of drugs, that’s when they make decisions they might not normally make that may put them at risk.”

Oklahoma’s new epidemic reflects a national trend that has seen surges in syphilis across the country. While the state has stayed well below the national average, its numbers have consistently grown in recent years.