Syphilis cases continue to grow in Bartlesville

? The number of syphilis cases connected to an outbreak of the sexually transmitted disease in Bartlesville, Okla., has grown to 17, state health officials said Thursday.

That number is expected to climb over the next few weeks as health officials conduct additional tests, said Chang Lee, director of intervention and prevention at the Oklahoma State Department of Health.

By comparison, only one case of syphilis had been identified in Washington County in the previous five years.

Lee said authorities were alerted to the situation in May, when the disease was detected in a woman in her 20s. The woman was a methamphetamine user and told officials she sometimes exchanged sex for drugs, Lee said. The additional cases were linked to the woman’s sex partners.

Syphilis is a bacterial infection and can be deadly if it’s left untreated. The first symptom is often a painless, open sore where the person came into contact with the bacteria. Several weeks later those infected may develop a skin rash. The disease then may go into a latent stage, producing no symptoms for months or years. The final stage of syphilis can damage the nervous system, heart and eyes and can even cause death.