adminLONDON. – Syphilis has been called many names since the first record of it in the 1490s, most of them uncomplimentary – “the French disease,” “the Neapolitan disease”, “the Polish disease”.
One however has stuck: “the great imitator.”
Syphilis is a master at mimicking other infections and early symptoms are easy to miss.
Left untreated, the consequences can be serious. Tushar, a 33-year-old project officer in Amsterdam, has had syphilis twice.
He remembers first receiving the news via WhatsApp from his sexual partner at the time.
“They were really upset,” he says. “They blamed me which wasn’t possible because of the window period.
“It felt strange to be accused and it took some time to de-escalate.” Tushar got tested and treated that week.
“People mistakenly think syphilis is something that cannot be cured. People don’t understand what it means to still have syphilis antibodies and not have the infection.”
In April, the US released its latest data on sexually transmitted infections (STI).
Cases of syphilis saw the largest increase, with cases surging 32% between 2020 and 2021 to reach the highest number of reported incidences in 70 years.
The epidemic is also showing no signs of slowing, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned.
And it has pointed to some “alarming” new trends driving this sudden spike in the disease.
Congenital syphilis – where a mother passes the infection to her child during pregnancy – often after contracting it from their partner – has risen particularly sharply, with cases soaring in the US by 32% between 2020-2021. The disease can cause stillbirths, infant deaths and life-long health problems.
It has left many health experts reeling.
“Fifteen or 20 years ago we thought we were on the verge of eliminating syphilis,” says Leandro Mena, director of the CDC’s division of sexually transmitted disease prevention.
“There is no doubt we are seeing increasing rates of syphilis, rates we have not seen in the past 20 years or so.”
And it is not something just happening in the US. There were 7.1 million new cases of syphilis globally in 2020, according to World Health Organisation data.
In 2022, the UK saw syphilis cases reach their highest level since 1948.
The rise in cases is something sexual health practitioners working on the frontline have grown familiar with.
“When I first started sexual health nursing in 2005, it was quite rare to see primary syphilis, even in a city centre clinic,” says Jodie Crossman, co-chair of the STI Foundation in the UK, where syphilis rates jumped 8.4% between 2020 and 2021. “Now most city-based clinics will see at least two or three patients per day attending for treatment.”
Mathew Masinge
Online Reporter