Description:
Seth Rolbein reports on a dramatic increase in syphilis cases in the late 1980s among women and people of color. Rolbein compares statistics on the incidence of syphilis cases among men and women in the white, Latino, and African American communities. Interviews with Dr. Tony Japour, a medical fellow in infectious disease; Barbara Neustadt, a registered nurse at Beth Israel Hospital; and Dr. Judith Steinberg of Boston City Hospital, about the latest epidemic of syphilis cases. Rolbein reports that the resurgence of cases can be traced to crack cocaine users, who may engage in sexual activity with multiple partners in crack houses. Rolbein notes that victims of syphilis may be at risk for HIV and AIDS. Rolbein's report is accompanied by clinical photos of syphilis patients and by footage of police officers investigating a crack house.
1:00:03: Visual: Shots of clinical photos of syphilis patients. The patients have severe skin lesions. Seth Rolbein reports that there has been an increase in syphilis cases. V: Footage of Dr. Tony Japour (medical fellow in infectious diseases) being interviewed by Rolbein. Japour says that syphilis was epidemic before 1945; that it was an epidemic among sexually active adults. Japour says that the disease declined after the discovery of penicillin; that penicillin cured syphilis. Japour says that after 1945, the disease declined from a rate of 70 cases per 100,000 people to 5 cases per 100,000 people. Rolbein reports that the Massachusetts Department of Public Health has compiled the latest figures for syphilis. Rolbein reports that there were 710 diagnosed cases of syphilis in 1986; that the number of syphilis cases grew steadily and then grew dramatically in 1990. Rolbein reports that more than 1700 new cases of syphilis were reported in 1990. V: An on-screen chart details the numbers of syphilis cases from 1986 to 1990. Shot of a bacteria culture. Rolbein reports that researchers had seen a dramatic growth in the number of syphilis cases only one time since the 1940s. V: Footage of Dr. Judith Steinberg (Co-director, Public Health Clinic, Boston City Hospital) being interviewed. Steinberg says that there were a high number of syphilis cases among white, homosexual men in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Rolbein reports that Barbara Neustadt (registered nurse, Public Health Clinic, Beth Israel Hospital) believes that there must be another population involved in the latest epidemic. V: Footage of Neustadt being interviewed by Rolbein. Neustadt says that the gay community in Boston has worked hard to educate community members about safe sex; that there has been a significant drop in all sexually transmitted diseases in the gay population. Footage of Japour being interviewed. Japour says that the disease is in an epidemic stage. Japour says that the number of cases among gay and bisexual white men has decreased dramatically; that the number of cases among people of color and women has increased dramatically. Rolbein reports that there was approximately one case per 100,000 people among white men and women under the age of twenty in Massachusetts in 1988 and 1989. Rolbein reports that the number of syphilis cases increased dramatically among African American men and women under the age of twenty in Massachusetts in 1988. Rolbein reports that the number of cases among African American men and women under the age of twenty doubled in 1989. Rolbein reports that there were 80 cases per 100,000 people among African American women under the age of twenty in 1989. Rolbein reports that there has been a dramatic increase of syphilis cases in the Massachusetts Latino community in 1988 and 1989. Rolbein reports that there were 135 cases per 100,000 people among Latina women under the age of twenty in 1989. Rolbein reports that statistics are comparable across the nation. V: An on-screen chart details statistics for the numbers of syphilis cases among men and women under the age of twenty in the white, African American, and Latino communities in Massachusetts in 1988 and 1989. Rolbein reports that medical investigators from Philadelphia, Connecticut and Massachusetts believe that crack cocaine is at the root of the epidemic. V: Shots of workers in a laboratory setting. An African American man hands a white bag over the counter. Shot of people walking on a street. Shot through the window of a car of a housing development. Shot of a bag of crack. Footage of Japour being interviewed. Japour says that there are crack houses where individuals sell sex for drugs. Japour says that crack houses are the equivalent of the "gay bath houses" of the 1970s. Japour says that crack makes people sexually aggressive; that clients of the crack houses may have several sexual encounters in the course of an evening. Rolbein says that syphilis is spreading quickly. V: Shots of police officers entering an apartment; of police investigating a room of an apartment. The floor of the room is strewn with trash. Footage of Neustadt being interviewed. Neustadt says that it is frightening to see young people with syphilis; that syphilis patients may eventually contract HIV and AIDS. Rolbein says that AIDS and syphilis are both spread through sexual contact; that syphilis is curable while AIDS is not. V: Shot of an AIDS prevention poster. Footage of Neustadt being interviewed. Neustadt says that the increase in syphilis probably reflects an imminent increase in HIV-positive people in Boston. Rolbein reports that the syphilis epidemic is moving away from the gay community; that the syphilis epidemic is affecting people of color and communities in the inner city. V: Shot of the entrance to Boston City Hospital.
Date Created:
03/01/1991
