On May 30, 2024, IBBH Assistant Professor Dr. Jacob D. Moses and Dr. Allan Brandt (Harvard University) published an essay, “Stigma and the Return of Syphilis,” in the health news outlet STAT. Syphilis, one of the oldest infections known to humans, has returned to the U.S. at epidemic rates that have been climbing since 2001. In 2022, the last year with complete data, the highest number of infections were recorded in more than 70 years. Stemming the return of syphilis will take more than manufacturing more penicillin. It will require counteracting stigma, a longstanding problem that has resulted in critical failures in health care access and delivery.