Syphilis cases rise sharply in China

China has seen a dramatic rise in cases of syphilis, as a result of rapid social change, US researchers say.

A report in the New England Journal of Medicine says syphilis is now the most commonly reported communicable disease in Shanghai, the second-largest city.

Pregnant women are also increasingly passing the disease to their children, with more than one baby with congenital syphilis born every hour in 2008.

Syphilis Epidemic Surfaces with China’s Growing Economy

On Thursday, researchers have revealed that every year in China, at least one child is born with syphilis, since new capital from the nation's budding financial system stimulates the world's swiftest mounting outbreak of the ailment.

According to an article in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), about 50 years back, Syphilis was nearly mopped out in China, but now, it is the most frequently accounted sexually transmitted sickness in Shanghai.