Blake Hall
A Pentagon report found that syphilis cases among active-duty troops has increased by 41 percent since 2010.
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease that can cause blindness and infectious lesions if left untreated. There is no vaccine for this highly contagious disease, and condoms do not completely eliminate risk either. The only effective prevention method suggested by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is to have long-term, monogamous relationships with uninfected partners.
From Jan. 2010 to Aug. 2015, 2,976 American troops have been diagnosed with syphilis. In the last month alone the Navy found nine sailors struggling with the disease. Ninety-two percent of these cases were males.
The Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center stated that it could not identify the exact cause for this rise in syphilis infections, but it can guess that servicemen are practicing less safe sex, especially with Internet hookups.
The American military has battled the sultry specter of syphilis before. During World War I, the military discharged 10,000 men due to STD infection. To contain syphilis and gonorrhea outbreaks, the military circulated unintentionally hilarious PSAs informing American troops about contracting venereal disease abroad, specifically syphilis and gonorrhea.
Almost all of these PSAs included red-clad women and/or Hitler beckoning to innocent, uninfected troops. Perhaps with this new outbreak, the military will whip up some anti-ISIS syphilis PSAs.
