Syphilis Infections On The Rise

Reports of syphilis contraction are on the rise, according to a new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In a report released on Tuesday, the CDC says that there has been a 39 percent increase in the amount of people who contracted the disease from 2006 to 2009, with most new cases appearing in young black men.

Rise in syphilis prompts education forum

The community forum, to be held on Wednesday, November 24, will explore the complex issues around prevention, risk reduction, testing and notifying partners.

Recent figures indicate that in the year to March 2009, approximately 750 diagnoses of syphilis were made in Australia. Experts believe that the numbers are considerably higher.

A panel of specialists will be on hand to provide up-to-date information and available to respond to questions. Among them are ACON’s Geoff Honnor and Dr Fraser Drummond from the National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research.

Syphilis: Top 5 Symptoms

The entire lifecycle of syphilis has five parts: primary syphilis, secondary syphilis, latent syphilis, tertiary syphilis, and neurosyphilis. Each of these five stages has symptoms that can be diagnosed independently.

The primary stage of syphilis, which occurs due to sexual contact with an infected individual, includes skin lesions or ulcers generally on the genitalia of the infected individual, but can also occur at any other location on the body. These syphilis ulcers, referred to as chancre, are firm and painless even though they may persist for four to seven weeks.

Columbus cleared of bringing syphilis to Europe

A long-held theory has it that Christopher Columbus and his crew returned to Europe in 1493 from their trip to the Americas bringing syphilis with them, and research reported in PhysOrg in 2008 also suggested Columbus was to blame. Now an excavation of skeletons in a London cemetery has unearthed seven skeletons that suggest the disease was present in Europe nearly two centuries earlier.