By Jackie Jadrnak Journal Staff Writer Syphilis. Speak its name and historical figures as widely separated in time as Alexander the Great and Napoleon Bonaparte may come to mind.
Some historians speculate that both died of the disease.
But it isn't a mere relic of the past. The bad news is that it jumped in New Mexico in 2000. New Mexico had 13 cases of primary and secondary syphilis in 1995 and 12 cases in 1999, with lower numbers in between, he said. It does serve as a reminder, though, that physicians should be alert for signs of the disease, especially in pockets where it is more common, he said. In New Mexico, Albuquerque usually is where syphilis shows up.