Syphilis outbreak hits Davenport after Internet sex

An outbreak of syphilis is reported in eastern Iowa’s Scott County. Doctor Louis Katz, medical director of the county health department in Davenport, says four men have been diagnosed with the potentially-fatal sexually transmitted disease in the past ten weeks. All four men admitted having sex with other men and Katz said they had something else in common. All had solicited partners for sex on the Internet. Katz says people shouldn’t engage in that sort of risky behavior and if they insist on doing it, they should use protection like a condom. Syphilis often starts with painless sores and leads to a rash with fever and can be deadly, though it can be treated with antibiotics.