Medicine: To Wipe Out Syphilis

Alarmed that the incidence of infectious syphilis has tripled in the last four years in the U.S. population generally (particularly among teen-agers and homosexuals), a task force of public health experts last week met in New York to map a crusade with the simple, comprehensive goal of wiping the disease out. Speaking for the group, which is preparing recommendations for the Surgeon General, New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Leona Baumgartner called it “senseless to continue to spend annually on the syphilitic insane three times what we have been spending for prevention and control.”

The task force, she said, has no illusions. “The job, although believed to be entirely feasible, will be difficult at best. It will require dedication and effort on the part of public health agencies, an informed and determined public and a lot of money. In its early infectious stages syphilis is easy to diagnose and easy to cure. We have had the tools for its ultimate elimination for some time. There is no reason why they should not be put to their most effective use immediately.”