During Monday night’s Christian County Health Department meeting, Director of Nursing Jennifer Cail was clear that — with the start of school — the clinic has been extremely busy, and with the typical services.
Physicals. Vaccines. Colds. Flu. Regularly scheduled programming.
But there’s another trend, she said, that’s much more troubling and brewing locally — running parallel to national observations.
And that’s syphilis — something, she said, the region is targeting.
A sexually transmitted disease, syphilis can lead to damage to the heart, brain, eyes and nervous system if untreated, and it can be passed by unwitting mothers to newborns.
In the worst-case scenarios lead to death — just as it did to famed Prohibition-era and gangster Al Capone.
Board member Charles Turner raised a tough question.
Cail said there were a number of factors leading to this flare.
The sexual behavior, Cail added, and not the rampant drug use is a more common cause, and the gameplan is to continue treating walk-in and STD appointments daily, while continuing linked conversations with Montgomery County, Stewart County and Fort Campbell.
Furthermore, Cail said Kentucky remains in a Bicillin injection shortage, which is the main treatment for syphilis, and that the second-best treatment — 30 days of Doxycycline pills — often leads to patient non-compliance, as many bail out on the final doses.
She said there are also some creative solutions still on the table.
Somewhat related, Cail noted that a new partnership with Sanctuary, Inc., has also developed.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the nation in 2024 saw its combined total number of cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis decline 9% from 2023 — down a third consecutive year.
However, there were still more than 2.2 million reported STIs in 2024, and compared to a decade ago, in 2014, overall cases are up 13%, while congenital syphilis is nearly 700% higher — increasing for the 12th year in a row, despite primary and secondary syphilis cases declining from 2023 to 2024.
In other CCHD news:
+ Following an executive session, Department Public Health Director Devin Brumfield was unanimously promoted from Director I to Director II. He has been with the organization since 2014.
+ Cloie Rager, public information officer, said a public review of the Community Health Improvement Plan was scheduled for October 8, but Fall Break thwarted attendance. It has been rescheduled for 9-11:30 AM January 29, in order to review the health assessment data that’s already been made public on their website.
She also said a Department “Preparedness App” will be going live soon.
+ Meeting dates in 2026: January 26, April 27, June 29 and October 26.
