Syphilis News and Research

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Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum. It has often been called “the great imitator” because so many of the signs and symptoms are indistinguishable from those of other diseases.

In the United States, health officials reported over 36,000 cases of syphilis in 2006, including 9,756 cases of primary and secondary (P&S) syphilis. In 2006, half of all P&S syphilis cases were reported from 20 counties and 2 cities; and most P&S syphilis cases occurred in persons 20 to 39 years of age. The incidence of P&S syphilis was highest in women 20 to 24 years of age and in men 35 to 39 years of age. Reported cases of congenital syphilis in newborns increased from 2005 to 2006, with 339 new cases reported in 2005 compared to 349 cases in 2006.

Between 2005 and 2006, the number of reported P&S syphilis cases increased 11.8 percent. P&S rates have increased in males each year between 2000 and 2006 from 2.6 to 5.7 and among females between 2004 and 2006. In 2006, 64% of the reported P&S syphilis cases were among men who have sex with men (MSM).

Syphilis is passed from person to person through direct contact with a syphilis sore. Sores occur mainly on the external genitals, vagina, anus, or in the rectum. Sores also can occur on the lips and in the mouth. Transmission of the organism occurs during vaginal, anal, or oral sex. Pregnant women with the disease can pass it to the babies they are carrying. Syphilis cannot be spread through contact with toilet seats, doorknobs, swimming pools, hot tubs, bathtubs, shared clothing, or eating utensils.

HIV infection more common among non-Hispanic blacks

HIV infection is significantly more common among non-Hispanic blacks than it is among any other young adult racial or ethnic group in the United States, according to the first study drawn from the nation's general youth population.

7 Jun 2006

Male circumcision, HIV and other STDs

A statistical review of the past medical files of more than 300 couples in Uganda, in which the female partner was HIV negative and the male was HIV positive, provides solid documentation of the protective effects of male circumcision in reducing the risk of infection among women.

16 Feb 2006

8 million children born every year with serious birth defects

According to a new report, every year an estimated 8 million children are born with a serious birth defect of genetic or partially genetic origin.

31 Jan 2006

Kids learn about STD's when they are getting diagnosed with them

Most sexually active teenage girls know relatively little about sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) until it is too late, according to a paper by Carnegie Mellon University researchers that will be published in the January edition of the Journal of Adolescent Health.

8 Jan 2006

You've got mail and it's STD!

Health authorities in California have found a way a keeping awkward or embarrassing information on sexually transmitted disease (STD), right down to the minimum.

19 Dec 2005

Syphilis on the rise in U.S. - high risk sex among men to blame

According to an annual report on sexually transmitted diseases (STD), by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of U.S. syphilis cases rose for the fourth year in 2004, and that increase was mainly among men.

9 Nov 2005

Dead human tissue illegally used in surgery

London Health Sciences Centre is investigating if its surgeons used human tissue products that were recalled because they might have been taken illegally from corpses at funeral homes in the United States.

31 Oct 2005

High rates of herpes simplex virus 2 and syphilis among young drug users in Baltimore

The study found that women had significantly higher rates compared to their male counterparts, but did not find significant differences between injection drug users and non-injection drug users.

16 Jun 2005

New Zealand moves to routinely offering antenatal HIV screening

New Zealand will progressively move to a policy of routinely offering antenatal HIV screening as part of antenatal care, Ministry of Health spokesman Dr Pat Tuohy said this week.

15 Jun 2005

Cocaine use increases the risk of coronary aneurysms

Researchers in Minnesota say that cocaine users may be putting themselves at risk of coronary aneurysms, a ballooning of the walls of coronary arteries, which is potentially fatal.

9 May 2005

As syphilis rates increase in Los Angeles County, new study suggests the disease is increasing HIV rates

The syphilis epidemic among men who have sex with men in Los Angeles County may be contributing to rates of HIV in this population, according to a new report published in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.

23 Apr 2005

Framework agreement creates safe blood for China

In an important step to help combat the spread of HIV/AIDS in China, The People's Republic of China's Ministry of Health signed a groundbreaking framework agreement with Washington, D.C.-based Safe Blood International Foundation (Safe Blood International), an organization dedicated to providing a safe blood supply for developing countries to help them stop the spread of HIV/AIDS and other blood-borne diseases at the Ministry of Health in Beijing.

12 Apr 2005

Oral sex not sex say teens

Many teenagers in the US do not regard oral sex as sex and one in five say they have experience of it.

4 Apr 2005

Medical interventions during pregnancy and childbirth may not be the best way to improve newborn survival

In Brazil neonatal mortality declined in the 1980’s but rates have virtually remained unchanged since the 1990’s. Fernando Barros (Hospital de Clinicas, Montevideo, Uruguay) and colleagues studied births in 1992, 1993, and 2004 in the Brazilian city of Pelotas. They found that important changes in maternal characteristics occurred over the 22 years covered by the study.

3 Mar 2005

Medical Services International signs $25 mil Chinese contract

Medical Services International has announced that it has signed a $25,500,000 US contract to supply the VScan HIV test kit in the People's Republic of China.

1 Mar 2005

New York City Health statement on rare strain of HIV in a New York City resident

On February 11, 2005, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) reported a case of HIV infection with a strain that is resistant to many drugs in three classes of HIV medications, and which appears to have progressed to AIDS within 4 to 20 months after infection.

27 Feb 2005

New 3-DCR HIV strain does not respond to three classes of anti-retroviral medication

A highly resistant strain of rapidly progressive human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has been diagnosed for the first time in a New York City resident who had not previously undergone antiviral drug treatment, according to the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH).

13 Feb 2005

Shakespeare may have had syphilis

Shakespeare’s name usually inspires thoughts of kings, fairies, lovers, wars and poetic genius--not syphilis. However, some passages in his plays and sonnets indicate that the Bard may have suffered from one or more venereal infections, according to an article in the Feb. 1 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, now available online.

10 Jan 2005

Rates of HIV/AIDS diagnoses steady in the U.S

Rates of HIV/AIDS diagnoses in the United States stayed steady for the years 2000-2003, but sharp racial disparities remain, according to an analysis of data from 32 states, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced today.

1 Dec 2004