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P34 Syphilis Epidemic Response Team to Address An MSM Outbreak of Syphilis

Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Hyatt Exhibit Hall
Peter Leone, MD, HIV/STD Prevention and Control Branch, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Chapel Hill, NC, evelyn foust, MPH, North Carolina Department of Health, NCDHS, Raleigh, NC, Holly Watkins, BS, Communicable Disease Branch, North Carolina Division of Public Health, Raleigh, NC and Constance Jones, MA, CPM, Department of Psychology, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL

Background:In response toan 84% increase in cases of early syphilis (ES) from 2008 to 2009 (509 vs.  937 respectively); 75% of cases occurring in men.the North Carolina Communicable Disease Branch created the Syphilis Epidemic Response Team (SERT) in April 2010.There was  Members of SERT include Communicable Disease Branch staff from Prevention, Surveillance, Field Services, Communications and Epidemiology units.SERT partnered with LHDs and CBOs to implement the plan.

Objectives: Describe the implementation of a statewide syphilis epidemic response plan andteam to decrease the number of ES cases across North Carolina (NC).

Methods:SERT implemented a response plan in collaboration with LHDs and CBOs. Through active surveillance, primary care provider care education, social marketing to identified risk groups , targeted testing and creation of an MSM Task Force,NC was able to reduce the number of reported, ES cases. SERT reporting forms allowedNC to collect real-time demographic, sex of partner and other co-morbidity/ risk information, instead of having to merge data from the seven regional databases to a central database. Social networks were identified for targeted prevention outreach and screening.

Results: After the establishment of SERT, NC has seen a 22% decrease of reported ES cases from 2009 to 2010 (937 vs. 727 respectively). Six counties accounted for 661 of the 937 reported cases of ES in 2009 (71%) for the state and had a 25% decrease in ES cases (497) for 2010.

Conclusions:SERT is an effective intervention  model  which combined traditional public health models informed by immediate epidemiologic data to guide activities. It provides information to indicate which MSM social/sexual networks to screen, educated communities on sexual health, utilizes social marketing, provides information to access resources, and empowered through community input from an MSM task force.

Implications for Programs, Policy, and Research: A model for establishing a response team in areas seeing increasing MSM STD morbidity

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