- We didn’t know this condition existed and we now kind of wish we didn’t.
It’s always cool when modern medical science makes another breakthrough. Unless, of course, it’s because you’re suffering from the novel condition.
Case in point, earlier this year we reported on a man who almost lost his arms to a previously unknown bacterium. Now, five Michigan women are kind of in the same boat.
Granted, their ailment is not new to science. It’s just very rare and bizarre to see it simultaneously in five people contracted through the same conditions.
You see, each of the women had, uh, relations with the same man. However, they didn’t take the appropriate precautions and he ended up giving each of them syphilis.
In their eyes.
It may be too late to say so, but if you’re sensitive to gross descriptions of genital-related anatomy, maybe go read something about cute animals instead.
A Cluster of Disease
The unusual case of the five women was recently reported by the CDC. None of the 40-60-year-old women in the outbreak cluster — to use the medical term — have been identified and are simply known as patients A-E.
The whole thing began unraveling in March 2022, when Patient A received a referral to the Kalamazoo County Health and Community Services Department (KCHCSD). She was suffering from an unusual combo of genital lesions and blurred vision.
Tests revealed that she had contracted syphilis, both the regular and ocular kind. The woman didn’t use drugs and had only had sex with one man in the last 12 months, so it seemed pretty clear where she had got the disease from.
In the following April, Patient B came to a hospital with recurring headaches, mild hearing loss, and vision issues. Once again, doctors found she had ocular syphilis.
This story basically repeated itself over the next two months. Patient C experienced rashes, peeling skin, and vision issues in May, Patient D came to see doctors about her worsening vision and genital sores in June, and Patient E sought help for weird eyesight problems in May.
In the end, each of the women received a diagnosis of ocular syphilis (and neurosyphilis in a couple of cases). During medical interviews, a common thread emerged — they had all had sex with the same man they had met online.
A Tainted Lover
So, who is our disease-riddled Casanova? That’s an excellent question.
Medical authorities did manage to figure out the man’s identity (which has not been disclosed) after Patient B’s case. They attempted to contact him in April 2022, but he proved uncooperative at best.
The man gave the doctors little information and he didn’t show up for a scheduled medical appointment in April. His excuse was that he was no longer in Michigan.
Obviously, that wasn’t true, considering he infected three other women in the following months.
After Patient C showed up, doctors began to dig deeper into the mysterious seducer’s past. Hospital records showed that he had sought care in January 2022 for ulcerative penile and anal lesions that doctors at the time believed were due to herpes.
Indeed, both patients A and B recalled the man had a “sore” on his dong. Yet they still decided to do the deed unprotected.
After repeated contact attempts, the man finally showed up for a medical evaluation in May 2022. Bizarrely enough, the CDC said he didn’t show any obvious signs or symptoms of syphilis.
Yet, laboratory tests proved that he did carry the disease. He received intramuscular penicillin for his condition — and that’s the last we know of him.
Eye Syphilis? What?
By this point, you may be wondering what on earth ocular syphilis is. And we have to admit, we sure didn’t know it existed before we encountered this case study.
Despite our ignorance, though, ocular syphilis is nothing new. As it turns out, syphilis bacteria (known as Treponema pallidum to doctors and nerds) can spread through avenues other than just your unmentionables.
If left untreated, syphilis bacteria can begin to attack the central nervous system (hence why the disease was long considered to drive people mad). In this same vein, they can also wreak havoc in the eyes and the inner ear.
Should nothing be done about the condition, the bacteria will irreparably damage the nerves in these regions. In the worst-case scenario, the disease could lead to life-long blindness and/or deafness.
Fortunately, ocular syphilis is exceedingly rare. Only about 1% of all syphilis cases involve the bacteria spreading into the eye.
Yet, that’s not a risk anyone should be willing to take. And that, kids, is why you should always remember — no glove, no love.
Maybe put on airtight goggles too, just in case.