Increased Focus on Syphilis

Syphilis has reached its highest level ever recorded in Australia, with data showing 1765 people were diagnosed with the potentially deadly bacterial disease in Australia last year - a 34 per cent increase on the number documented in 2009. The increase is almost exclusively among gay men and attributed to decreases in condom use.

If syphilis is not diagnosed it can have a significant impact on people's health, with symptoms in the later stage of the disease including difficulty coordinating muscle movements, paralysis, numbness, blindness, and dementia.

This recent data has been produced in a new report by the Kirby Institute.  HIV, viral hepatitis and sexually transmissible infections in Australia Annual Surveillance Report 2014