Ina Park, MD, on Syphilis: The STI That Keeps Us Guessing

Coming Together for Sexual Health

Ina Park, MD, is back again for a focused look at her (second) favorite sexually transmitted infection: syphilis (favorite because it’s fascinating). She says, “it’s one of the most challenging conditions to diagnose in clinical medicine because it literally can look like anything.” Join Ina and Tammy as they explore how syphilis was almost eliminated around 2000 and then surged again to current rates of infection in the US. Ina spotlights how a rise in congenital syphilis has fueled a mobilization in public health efforts, even while she celebrates declines in rates of the most infectious types of syphilis. As national syphilis screening guidelines are adapted to increase screening, including in emergency departments, Ina is optimistic for a reduction in future syphilis rates. But here’s the takeaway for healthcare providers and patients alike: keep syphilis on your radar. A quick shot of penicillin early-on can save everyone a lot of trouble.

Links:

• Connect with Dr. Ina Park on her website, LinkedIn, X, and Instagram

• Resources mentioned in episode

• • CDC Geographic Risk Calculator

• • Strange Bedfellows: Adventures in the Science, History, and Surprising Secrets of STDs

• CAPTC related training and resources

• • STI Clinical Update Webinar – Introduction to Syphilis and Congenital Syphilis

  • CAPTC Disease Intervention Trainings

• Previous episodes with Dr. Ina Park

• • Dr. Ina Park Unwraps the CDC’s New 2023 STI Report

• • S4 E7 Dan Savage on the Magic Question “What are you into?” & Dr. Ina Park on How Providers Can Help

• • S3 E7: Breaking Down STI Stigma with Dr. Ina Park & Courtney Brame

• • S1 E6: Fighting STIgma With Humor & Honesty with Dr. Ina Park

Ina Park MD, MS, is the author of Strange Bedfellows: Adventures in the Science, History, and Surprising Secrets of STDs. She is the Principal Investigator at the California Prevention Training Center. Ina is a Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of California San Francisco School of Medicine and a Medical Consultant in the Division of STD Prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She is a co-author of the 2021 CDC STD Treatment Guidelines, the country’s premier resource for diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted infections.

Read the transcript of the episode here.

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