LUBBOCK -
From ages 17 to 62; those are some ages of Lubbock county residents infected by the sexually transmitted disease, Syphilis.
The state health department issued an alert for Lubbock County residents after the number of cases doubled within the first four months of this year.
There were 24 cases identified from January to April.
"We may have an epidemic on our hands and we need to use public health measures to make sure that this comes under control quickly and doesn't spread," Dr. Anne Epstein said.
The warning signs are easy to overlook.
"Individuals will first notice a painless sore, it's usually in their genitalia and that's followed a few weeks later by usually a body rash," Public health director Katherine Wells said.
The symptoms might disappear, but Dr. Epstein said the infection doesn't.
"If they ignore it, it will go away but the infection doesn't go away, the infection remains in the body and can be transmitted and make people very sick," Dr. Epstein said.
If left untreated, Syphilis can cause a host of other medical complications.
"There is a concern that individuals that have syphilis are at a higher risk of becoming HIV infected," Wells said.
The bottom line is get tested regularly and treat immediately.
"People who are at high risk, men who have sex with men and people with multiple sexual partners should also consider getting tested on a routine screening basis," Dr. Epstein said. "This disease is easy to detect, is inexpensive to test for, its testing is confidential, it's easy to prevent, it's easy to treat, we just need to do it."
