Syphilis outbreak among American Indians - Arizona, 2007-2009

Abstract

On January 25, 2007, an Indian Health Service (IHS) unit notified the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) of five symptomatic syphilis cases (i.e., primary or secondary syphilis) that had occurred in members of a Southwest Indian Nation during the previous 6 months. By mid-April, three more cases had been identified. On April 18, 2007, the tribe declared an outbreak of syphilis and subsequently requested public health assistance from county, state, and federal agencies. On July 10, an enhanced, coordinated multiagency response to the outbreak began, involving tribal and Pima County health departments, IHS, ADHS, and CDC. This report summarizes the enhanced outbreak response, which identified a total of 106 cases of syphilis with onset from January 2007 to June 2009, including six congenital cases (two of them stillbirths). Initial communication gaps led to delays in response to this outbreak, but communication was improved through the formation of an outbreak response group that included members from county, state, and tribal health departments and IHS. For similar outbreaks in American Indian tribes, where various public health jurisdictions exist and often have concurrent responsibilities, formation of an outbreak response group can improve control efforts.

FIGURE.. Number of outbreak-associated syphilis cases (N = 106), by month and stage, among American Indian tribal members --- Arizona, May 2006–October 2009

* Arizona Department of Health Services. † Indian Health Service. Alternative Text: The figure above shows the number of outbreak-associated cases of syphilis (N = 106), by month and stage, among American Indian tribal members during an Arizona outbreak during May 2006-October 2009.