Syphilis Outbreak Among American Indians--Arizona, 2007-2009

This report summarizes an enhanced outbreak response, which identified 106 cases of syphilis with onset from January 2007 to June 2009, including six congenital cases in a Southwest Indian Nation. The enhanced, coordinated multiagency response involved tribal and Pima County Health Departments, the Indian Health Service (IHS), the Arizona Department of Health Services, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). As part of the enhanced outbreak response, public health investigators interviewed all 100 adult and adolescent syphilis patients to identify partners for testing and treatment referral. The primary and secondary syphilis rate for the affected tribe during 2007 reached 75 cases per 100,000, compared with a statewide rate of 4.8 cases per 100,000.