Responding to a community outbreak of syphilis by targeting sex partner meeting location: an example of a risk-space intervention

Abstract

Background: Effective syphilis control and elimination require community effort and innovative case-finding techniques, especially to identify infected persons from core transmission groups.

Goal: To summarize the implementation and outcomes of a community-oriented response to a localized outbreak of syphilis directed at sex partner meeting places.

Study design: Syphilis surveillance and rapid response data from a 7-month period were analyzed for risk behaviors, sex partner meeting locations, field investigation outcomes, and social and sexual network connections.

Results: Four (6%) of the sixty-nine persons tested were confirmed syphilis reactors, of whom three were new cases. A sexual and needle-sharing network of 15 persons was identified that included two of the new syphilis cases. These two had not been found through standard field investigation.

Conclusions: Targeting interventions to sex partner meeting places may effectively complement traditional syphilis control tools and find previously unidentified syphilis cases in high-morbidity areas.