What Does Your Skin Look Like If You Have Syphilis? Syphilis cases are on the rise in the U.S. and are the highest they have been since 1950. Hamilton County has seen an increase on par with national statistics and, like other counties, has had to contend with a national shortage of the antibiotics used to treat it. In Tennessee, the number of Stage 1 and Stage 2 syphilis cases rose 86% between 2017 ...