ORLANDO, Fla. — Syphilis cases are on the rise in Central Florida. The Florida Department of Health said cases in the state nearly doubled from 2018 to 2022.

In 2022, Orange County had the sixth-highest syphilis rate in the state, with over 1,800 cases were reported.

One health care center in Orlando that tests for sexually transmitted diseases says the rate isn’t slowing down.

That’s why Wendy Nunez and her team at Bliss Health have invested in better testing in hopes of stopping the spread quicker.

The facility is the only one in Central Florida to have the AIX1000 RPR analyzer. This machine allows for quicker test results and more tests to be analyzed at once.

“If you send it out to a regular lab, it can take a couple of days or even weeks to get the results back,” said Nunez. “With an in-house testing center, the results will be in a couple of hours. That way, if a patient is positive, then we can have them come back in and get treated immediately.”

Nunez said she’s always had a passion for taking care of people. That’s what led her to the medical field.

“We have to take charge of our sexual health. We have to know what is going on with our bodies and the only way to do that is by going to a health care provider and getting screened,” said Nunez “I always knew I wanted to be a nurse, it’s one of those things that calls you.”

Nunez said one of the barriers she and her team are tackling is access to testing and making talking to providers about sexual health less taboo.

Nunez hopes by addressing this, she’ll help others stop the spread of syphilis.

Places like Bliss Health treat insured and uninsured patients.