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The CDC has released updated data showcasing trends for maternal syphilis rates between 2016 and 2022. Since 2000, rates for primary and secondary syphilis have steadily increased each year through [...]

Background: Cross-sectional studies have found a high prevalence of syphilis and HIV infection among men who have sex with men (MSM) in China. Methods: A total of 218 HIV-negative MSM participated in this prospective cohort study. Interviewer-administered questionnaires were completed, and blood samples were obtained for HIV and syphilis testing, both upon enrollment and at 12-month follow-up. Results: Of enrolled participants, 56% (122) were retained for the full 12-month follow-up period. The cohort had an HIV incidence density of 5.4 (95% CI: 2.0-11.3)/100 person-year (PY) and a syphilis incidence density of 38.5(95% CI: 27.7-50.2)/100 PY. Having syphilis (odds ratio [OR]: 11.4, 95% CI: 1.2-104.7) and more than 5 male sexual partners within the past 12 months (OR: 6.5, 95% CI: 1.1-39.8) were independent risk factors for HIV seroconversion (each P < 0.05). Being married (OR: 3.5, 95% CI: 1.4-8.2) and having more than 5 male sexual partners within the past 12 months (OR: 4.7, 95% CI: 2.0-6.2) were risk factors for syphilis seroconversion, while age [greater than or equal to] 30 (OR 2.1, 95% CI 0.7-9.5) and having recently engaged in unprotected receptive anal sex (OR: 2.4, 95% CI: 0.7-13.1) were marginally associated with syphilis seroconversion. Conclusion: The high incidence rates of HIV and syphilis in the Shenyang MSM community are significant cause for concern. The seroconversion rate for syphilis, in particular, indicates the high prevalence of high-risk sexual behaviors and the potential for increased HIV transmission. Appropriate interventions that address MSM-specific issues, including stigma, pressures from traditional society, and bisexual behavior, need to be tailored to inform and empower MSM in order to prevent HIV and syphilis in this community. DOI: 10.1097/OLQ.0b013e3181d13eed

Background: Syphilis cases increased 55% in San Francisco from 2007 (n = 354) to 2008 (n = 548). The San Francisco Department of Public Health interviews syphilis patients to identify sex partners needing treatment, but interviewing resources are limited. We developed and validated a model to prioritize interviews likely to result in treated partners. Methods: We included data from interviews conducted from July 2004 through June 2008. We used multivariate analysis to model the number of treated partners per interview in a random half of the data set. We applied the model to the other half, calculating predicted and observed proportions of partners successfully treated and interviews conducted if limiting interviews by syphilis patient characteristics. Results: In 1340 patient interviews, 1665 partners were named; of those, 827 (49.7%) were treated. Ratios of treated partners were significantly higher among patients aged Conclusions: Our model can provide modest efficiencies in allocating resources for syphilis partner notification. Health departments should consider developing tools to maximize impact of syphilis prevention and control activities. DOI: 10.1097/OLQ.0b013e3181bbf985

Introduction: In 2000, a syphilis outbreak was identified in Ireland. Materials and Methods: A prospective enhanced database was established in 2000. Crude incidence rates for the general population, men who have sex with men (MSM), and HIV-positive MSM were calculated. Results: Three hundred fifty-six cases of infectious syphilis were diagnosed at 1 center. Eighty-five percent of cases were identified as MSM. Crude incidence rates in MSM, ranging in age between 20 and 44 years, peaked in 2001 at 719 cases per 100,000 of the MSM population. A total of 17.4% of cases occurred in HIV-infected individuals. Crude incidence rates of syphilis in HIV-positive MSM in the center increased to 7280 per 100,000. Similar percentages of MSM with and without HIV infection had unprotected anal intercourse (37% and 41%, respectively). Conclusion: High-risk sexual behavior continues among HIV-infected and -noninfected MSM. Crude incidence rates among MSM in Ireland are alarming when compared with other outbreaks.

Background: Recent increases in rates of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and decreases in safe sex behaviors among men who have sex with men (MSM) in several American and European cities have been noted by researchers. It has been suggested that these trends are the result of perceptions that HIV/AIDS is less serious because of the availability of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Goal: The goal of the study was to examine trends in STD rates and risk behaviors among MSM and men who have sex with women (MSW) visiting a public STD clinic in Denver and to determine whether there is an ecological association with the availability of HAART. Study Design: This is a two-part retrospective analysis of male visits to the Denver Metro Health Clinic (DMHC). The first part describes gonorrhea and early (primary and secondary) syphilis trends among MSM between 1982 and 2001. For the second part, data were grouped into two 6-year time periods to represent pre-HAART and post-HAART time frames, 1990 to 1995 and 1996 to 2001. Results: Gonorrhea and early syphilis cases among MSM declined precipitously between 1982 and 1988 and then stabilized at low rates. The proportion of male visits to the clinic made by MSM decreased from 14.1% in 1990 to 7.2% in 1995 and then increased to 13.0% in 2001. Gonorrhea positivity rates among MSM increased after 1995 and were significantly higher in the period 1996 to 2001 (12.9%) than in the period 1990 to 1995 (8.1%; P < 0.0001). Conversely, gonorrhea rates among MSW dropped from 11.2% in the first period to 6.9% in the second (P < 0.0001). Among MSM known to be HIV-infected, gonorrhea rates increased from 11.6% in the first time period to 24.0% in the second period (P < 0.0001). Reports of anal sex among MSM increased from 64.4% to 70.9% (P < 0.0001). Reporting more than one sex partner increased for MSM from 65.2% to 70.3% (P < 0.0001), but it significantly decreased from 52.6% to 46.2% for MSW (P < 0.0001). No or inconsistent condom use increased from 60.9% to 63.0% for MSM (P = NS) and decreased from 85.1% to 82.4% among MSW (P < 0.0001). Conclusions: These trends appear to reflect a change toward higher risk-taking behaviors among MSM but not MSW since the time HAART became available and raise concerns about the potential for increased HIV transmission in this group.

Background: The mortality associated with AIDS among men may have had an influence on primary and secondary syphilis trends among men in the United States, through the loss of men at high risk for acquisition or transmission of syphilis in this population and/or by prompting safer sexual behaviors in response to the threat of AIDS. Goal: The goal of this study was to examine the association between AIDS mortality rates and primary and secondary syphilis incidence rates among men in the United States from 1984 to 1997. Study Design: We used a fixed-effects regression analysis of state-level AIDS mortality rates and primary and secondary syphilis incidence rates for men. Results: Our analysis showed a significant association between higher AIDS mortality and lower rates of syphilis incidence, after we controlled for confounding factors. Our model estimates suggested that every 20 AIDS deaths per 100,000 adult men are associated with declines of about 7% to 12% in syphilis incidence rates among men. Conclusion: Increases in AIDS-associated mortality may have accounted for one-third to one-half of the decline in syphilis rates among men in the early 1990s. Recent declines in AIDS mortality in the United States may have contributed to the recent outbreaks of syphilis, particularly among men who have sex with men. Our findings underscore the importance of providing STD prevention services to men with HIV infection and the need for STD surveillance in communities at risk for syphilis outbreaks.

New data released by the CDC indicate that syphilis rates were up (for the fourth year in a row), gonorrhea cases were at an all-time low, and Chlamydia infections had [...]

New diagnoses of syphilis have more than doubled in only a year, from 327 in 2000 to 715 in 2001. This scanned electron micrograph shows the spirochete bacterium Treponema pallidum, [...]

After almost two decades of consistent decline, new diagnoses of infectious syphilis in England and Wales are again on the increase.[1] Recent KC60 reports from genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinics indicate [...]

The incidence of gonorrhea in the United States is increasing, according to a Dec 5, 2000, news release from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A report by [...]

MILWAUKEE -- The U.S. gonorrhea rate increased 9% between 1997 and 1999 after 20 years of steady decline, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and [...]

A national gonorrhea control program helped send that disease on an uninterrupted 72 percent decline from 1975 to 1997, but in 1999 the gonorrhea rate increased for the second yea? [...]

According to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), an estimated 333 million new cases of curable sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) occur throughout the world each year among adults. [...]