BREAKING: New Hampshire Is Experiencing an Outbreak of Syphilis

(Concord, NH) - New Hampshire health officials say the number of syphilis cases is about double what it was at this time last year.

From January to May, there have been 42 cases of the sexually transmitted disease identified in New Hampshire, according to officials. The average for those months has been 20 over the past five years.

According the NH officials, syphilis can infect anybody who is sexually active. If a pregnant woman is infected, she can also pass the infection on to her unborn baby, resulting in congenital syphilis, a severe, disabling, and often life-threatening infection seen in infants, officials said. Fortunately, New Hampshire has not identified a case of congenital syphilis since 2013.

The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health Services recommends that everyone who is sexually active talk with their health care provider about getting tested for STDs, such as syphilis, HIV, gonorrhea, and chlamydia, and that individuals with sexual risk factors should be tested for syphilis, including MSM and anybody who has been diagnosed with another sexually transmitted disease. Pregnant women also need to be routinely tested for syphilis whether or not they have symptoms, the department said..

Further information about syphilis is available from the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention.