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Kitsap health officials report falling syphilis case trend locally but stress outreach, treatment and late-diagnosis risks
Summary
Public-health staff told the board that chlamydia and gonorrhea rates in Kitsap are below state averages and falling, that syphilis has been prioritized because of late diagnoses and risks to pregnant people, and that the district provided direct treatment doses and outreach to address access barriers.
Kitsap Public Health District staff briefed the board on April 3 about sexually transmitted infection (STI) surveillance and response work, reporting that chlamydia and gonorrhea case rates in the county remain below state averages while syphilis has been a focal point of outreach and treatment because of late diagnoses and risks for congenital infection.
“Kitsap is consistently below state rates,” said Kelsey Steadman, STI program manager. She told the board that chlamydia is the most commonly reported STI locally — “just under 700 cases reported last year” — and that gonorrhea cases numbered about 162 in the prior year. Steadman said chlamydia case investigation has limited impact on population rates and is one of the first areas the district reduces when capacity tightens; the district prioritizes follow-up and treatment linkage for people who have not been notified or treated.
Steadman said syphilis prompted intensified response because of both rising female cases statewide and the risk of congenital syphilis when infections in pregnancy go untreated. She said Kitsap investigated 85 suspected syphilis cases in 2024; of confirmed cases, 92 percent received the CDC‑recommended treatment. The district provided 10 doses of Bicillin (benzathine penicillin G) to smaller clinics, the county jail and tribal health providers that do not stock the medication and directly administered 15 Bicillin injections to people who faced barriers getting care.
Staff emphasized the barriers that increase risk of late or missed treatment: unstable housing, substance use and provider access. Steadman said more than half of syphilis cases were diagnosed more than a year after initial infection, a pattern that increases the number of Bicillin injections needed (three weekly injections rather than a single dose for earlier infections).
The district also cited community testing and outreach: a FOCUS program at a Virginia Mason clinic performed large opt‑out screening in emergency and urgent‑care settings (about 3,500 tests for Hep C, HIV and syphilis), and a Project Connect event in January tested more than 50 people through district outreach. Between 2023 and early 2025 the district performed over 300 syphilis tests via investigations and outreach events.
Steadman told the board Kitsap reported zero congenital syphilis cases in 2024 and “has none to date” for the current year. She described fieldwork the district will perform for pregnant people at high risk — including drawing blood and administering injections in outreach settings — and said the district partners with parent‑child and substance‑use outreach programs to secure treatment and social supports.
Ending: The board asked questions about needle‑exchange practices, Hepatitis C transmission and capacity; Steadman said shifts from injection to non‑injection use may reduce Hep C risk but STI outreach and field treatment remain priorities. Staff asked that budget and program support continue to preserve field outreach, testing and treatment work that they said would be the first activities cut if funding is reduced.
