“Hygiene Day to Promote Syphilis Fight” and “Urges Observance of Social Hygiene Day” from the January 19, 1939 Door County News and the January 20, 1939 Door County Advocate

Sep 11, 2024

[from January 19, 1939]

HYGIENE DAY TO PROMOTE SYPHILIS FIGHT

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“Guard Against Syphilis” is the slogan of National Social Hygiene Day to be observed throughout America on February 1. The day will be marked by some 5,000 meetings to highlight present community campaigns against syphilis and will focus public attention on vital next steps in the conquest of syphilis, according to Dr. Walter Clarke, executive director of the American Social Hygiene association.

Evidences of interest in the forthcoming event, the third annual observance in the current attack on syphilis, point to a larger nationwide demonstration than those of previous years, Dr. Clarke said. The association’s offices in New York as well as San Francisco report increased activity and interest on the part of official and voluntary health and welfare agencies, civic groups, service clubs, women’s organizations, churches, schools and upward of 1000 youth bodies.

Defining the objectives of the 1939 attack in terms of the slogan, these points were said to underly present national, state-wide and community planning in social hygiene:

Guard against syphilis by telling the American people about this dangerous disease—how it can be prevented and cured.

Guard against syphilis in youth, the age of greatest incidence, by strengthening the efforts of church, home, and school to provide better facilities for sex education, character development, and preparation for marriage and by correcting community conditions which threatens the health and welfare of the young people.

Guard against syphilis in marriage and childhood by encouraging good laws—and their observance—requiring examinations for all those about to marry and for all expectant mothers.

Guard against syphilis by attacking prostitution and quackery, two arch-accomplices of the disease.

Guard against syphilis by supporting adequate voluntary and official health programs, both state and local.

As in years past, press and radio aid will be sought in cultivating public interest in Social Hygiene day and its objectives. The American Social Hygiene association is offering posters, envelope enclosures. a special tabloid newspaper for free mass distribution and a complete kit of publicity and program aids for program planners.

The United States Public Health Service is again cooperating.

https://archive.co.door.wi.us/jsp/RcWebImageViewer.jsp?doc_id=88b0dabc-478c-4621-a4a1-0ae7125b6234/wsbd0000/20131118/00001616&pg_seq=4

[from January 20, 1939]

Urges Observance of Social Hygiene Day

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In a statement this week, Ruth Brye, county nurse, urged organizations of the county to make plans now to observe in some manner National Social Hygiene Day Feb. 1. The slogan of the event this year Is “Guard against syphilis.”

Free information, posters and program aids are being offered by the American Social Hygiene association, and the U. S. Public Health Service is also again cooperating.

https://archive.co.door.wi.us/jsp/RcWebImageViewer.jsp?doc_id=1e8fc801-90a4-4104-8e86-19a1ea0947dc/wsbd0000/20131118/00000728&pg_seq=4

Articles courtesy of the Door County Library Newspaper Archive

[Door County syphilis statistics from 2000 to 2022 from the CDC can be found using this chart generator: https://gis.cdc.gov/grasp/nchhstpatlas/charts.html

Select “STD” under “Disease & SDOH” and one of the syphilis categories under “Indicator”. “Congenital Syphilis” figures are not provided for Door County. Start to type in “Door County” into “Geography” in order to select it in the box below.

A state health services document, https://dhs.wisconsin.gov/publications/p00415-2023.pdf#page=16 indicates there were four cases of syphilis in Door County in 2023. This is the highest the county has seen since at least 1995. This is a table compiled from annual state health services documents:

The CDC graphs for “Primary and Secondary Syphilis” and “Early Non-Primary, Non-Secondary Syphilis” each report one case for Door County in 2008. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services reported the 2008 figure at <5 and the redacted figure may have been 2.

In 2022, Door County’s syphilis rate was not high enough to get it shaded on the CDC’s map, https://www.cdc.gov/nchhstp/syphilis-county-level/index.html, but had the map been prepared with 2023 statistics I expect it would have been shaded.

Statewide, syphilis declined from 2022 to 2023: https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/publications/p00415-2023.pdf#page=11

Door County is not the only area where syphilis has increased, according to “The U.S. Syphilis Spike Has Been Brewing for Decades”: https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2024/why-is-syphilis-spiking-in-the-us

These state documents provided the figures for the table:

https://dhs.wisconsin.gov/publications/p00415-2023.pdf#page=16

https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/publications/p00415-2022.pdf#page=4

https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/publications/p00415-2021.pdf#page=4

https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/publications/p00415-2020.pdf#page=4

https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/publications/p00415-2019.pdf#page=3

https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/publications/p00415-2018.pdf#page=3

https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/publications/p00415-2017.pdf#page=3

https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/publications/p00415-2016.pdf#page=3

https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/publications/p00415-2015.pdf#page=3

https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/publications/p00415-2014.pdf#page=3

https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/publications/p0/p00415-2013.pdf#page=3