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A DOUBLING in the number of new cases of syphilis in Victoria has prompted health authorities to urge gay men to be tested for the sexually transmitted infection every year.
There were 238 notifications of syphilis to Victoria's Department of Human Services last year, up from 117 in 2005 and a massive jump from the 17 notifications in 1995. Most of the cases were among men who had sex with men. The infection rate is now at levels not seen since the 1980s, when the emergence of the human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, raised levels of condom use and the number of syphilis cases fell. Victoria's chief health officer, Dr Robert Hall, said men who had sex with men were advised to have annual tests for syphilis. "We're recommending that for gay men who are sexually active, and in particular if they have multiple partners, to undergo testing and then, on the basis of that testing, then treatment — and for their partners to be notified so they can also get treatment," he said. But the Victorian AIDS Council believes some gay men may need to be tested more regularly. The council's executive director, Mike Kennedy, said some gay men should be tested every six months if they had sex with more than one person. Syphilis can be treated easily with antibiotics, but failure to treat it can have devastating, long-term consequences. The bug can enter the central nervous system and, decades later, cause dementia, paralysis and heart failure. The infection resembles an ulcer or rash, but sometimes there are no symptoms at all. Sexual health experts say a false belief that infections cannot be transmitted through oral sex is partly responsible for the rise. Melbourne Sexual Health Centre director Christopher Fairley said men were now more responsible about having protected anal sex but not so careful about oral sex. He said 40 per cent of infected people he had seen became infected after oral sex only. Professor Fairley said the decline of syphilis until about 2002 meant many doctors were unfamiliar with it and needed education. Delays in diagnosis increased the risk of spread. Source: theage.com.au |
