You may not know this, but Billy Joel and syphilis have something in common: they have come back stronger than ever. With Billy releasing his first song in 30 years today called “Turn the Lights Back On.” Absolutely beautiful song. And syphilis … and, and … and syphilis in the four years leading up to 2022, with cases among Americans exploding by nearly 80%. And we know that now, thanks to this new batch of data that was just released by the CDC yesterday. With the total number of cases reaching more than 207,000 in 2022. That is the highest number since 1950. And that’s f**king terrifying because while this infection is easily cured with antibiotics, if left untreated, it can cause damage to the heart, the brain. It can cause blindness, deafness, and paralysis. Also if a mom has it, she can transmit it to her fetus, which can cause, I mean, we're talking about miscarriage, infant, d*ath, lifelong medical issues. And this is a reality that many people are experiencing. H*ll, in 2022 over 3,700 babies were born with syphilis. That’s a 937% spike over the previous decade. So I guess the main point of this story is: get tested.
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Produced by: Cory Ray, Philip DeFranco
Edited by: James Girardier, Maxwell Enright, Julie Goldberg, Christian Meeks
Art Department: William Crespo
Writing/Research: Chris Tolve, Philip DeFranco
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#CDC #BillyJoel #Health
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