An alarming and dangerous syphilis surge across the Great Plains Region, an area spanning North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Iowa, has prompted tribal officials to urge HHS Secretary to declare a public health emergency. Dr. Meghan Curry O’Connell, chief public health officer at the Great Plains Tribal Leaders Health Board and a member of the Cherokee Nation, talks with Lindsay Smith Rogers about the outbreak and why public health officials are struggling to respond.

Learn more: Tribal Leaders Urge HHS Secretary to Declare Syphilis Emergency

How a fight over data made South Dakota’s bad syphilis outbreak worse

 Download the transcript for this episode.