Who is affected by syphilis

Content provided by Healthwise

Who is affected by syphilis

Since the discovery of the antibiotic penicillin, the incidence of syphilis in the general population has dramatically decreased, as have many other infectious diseases. However, in men who have sex with men, the number of cases continues to rise.¹ Despite the overall downward trend, syphilis remains one of the most common reportable infectious diseases in the United States.²

Syphilis rates in the United States are at the lowest rates since the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began keeping track of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in 1941.² However, there has been a rise in the number of people who have syphilis and who are also infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), particularly among men who have sex with men.¹ Open syphilis sores provide easy access to transmit or receive HIV infection during sexual intercourse. This may be particularly important in those parts of the country, such as the southern half of the United States, where rates of both infections are high.

Syphilis is most common in sexually active people 15 to 30 years of age.³ This age range is considered a more sexually active period for most people. Syphilis without another sexually transmitted disease is now more commonly seen in adults older than 30 years of age.

Syphilis is more common in large metropolitan cities.

References

Citations

1. Division of STD Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2004). Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance 2002 Supplement: Syphilis Surveillance Report. Atlanta: Department of Health and Human Services. Available online: http://www.cdc.gov/std/Syphilis2002/default.htm.

2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2002). Syphilis: General principles. MMWR, 51(RR-6): 18–28.

3. Tramont EC (2005). Treponema pallidum (syphilis). In GL Mandell et al., eds., Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett's Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases, 6th ed., vol. 2, pp. 2768–2785. Philadelphia: Elsevier.

Credits

Last updated:	October 26, 2005
Author:	Colleen Cronin
Reviewed By:	Joy Melnikow, MD, MPH - Family Medicine, Jeanne Marrazzo, MD, MPH - Infectious Disease
Editors:	Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA, Terrina Vail