{
  "id": 18640,
  "title": "Syphilis spreads while researchers contend with federal constraints and a drug shortage",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/07/31/syphilis-spreads-while-researchers-contend-with-federal-constraints",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-07-31T08:30:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "STAT News",
    "slug": "stat-news",
    "url": "https://www.statnews.com/2026/07/31/syphilis-drug-shortage-case-study-san-diego-patient-researcher-advocate/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Syphilis cases have been on the rise in San Diego, a city already grappling with federal limitations and a drug supply shortage. GB, a 47-year-old meth user, found herself at Park Boulevard, lured by the promise of free snacks and $20 for completing surveys. Living in a tent city, she relied on collecting aluminum cans to earn her earnings; each pound fetched $1.66. The research office on Park Boulevard, though sterile, offered more than just coffee and snacks. A researcher, Carlos Vera, asked GB to provide a blood sample, despite her fear of needles and her reluctance to inject substances. Vera interacted with her as if she were a human, unlike other individuals who often treated people in her situation as undesirable.",
  "summary": "At the San Diego-Tijuana border, syphilis spreads while researchers contend with federal constraints and a drug shortage.",
  "key_points": [
    "Syphilis cases rise in San Diego",
    "Federal limitations, drug shortage impact research",
    "Meth user GB provides blood sample"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}