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Mike Mitka

JAMA. 2001;286:3071.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 143 words of the full text and any section headings.

Last year, only 5979 cases of primary and secondary syphilis were reported in the United States—a 9.6% drop from 1999. This number of cases marks an all-time low in the syphilis rate and puts this sexually transmitted disease within closer reach of elimination, reports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The rate of syphilis for 2000 was 2.2 cases per 100 000 population, down from the 1999 rate of 2.4 cases per 100 000. The CDC, in a November 28 release, credits the decline in part to its "National Campaign to Eliminate Syphilis in the United States."

In 2000, half of all syphilis cases were concentrated in 21 counties and one city. Of those areas, 11 reported more than 100 cases of syphilis, with the most found in Cook County, Illinois (Chicago); Marion County, Indiana (Indianapolis); and Wayne County, Michigan (Detroit).