By John Ingold | The Colorado Sun
Syphilis is among the most brutal diseases known to humans, but it is also among the sneakiest.
Dr. Michelle Barron, an infectious disease expert with UCHealth, calls it “the great masquerader.” Early symptoms in adults are often painless, temporary and easy to miss. After that, the disease can lie silent in the body for years until it makes itself known.
And Colorado, like other states across the country, is now dealing with the devastating impacts that can occur when syphilis goes undetected and untreated.
Since 2018, syphilis cases in the state have more than tripled, to 3,266 last year from 1,084 in 2018. Those 2018 numbers were already a significant jump from previous years.