While HIV/AIDS cases have fallen since last year, syphilis infections rose 2 percent, with cases among those aged 15 to 14 rising 8 percent, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday.
Newly reported HIV cases have been steadily falling since 2018, reaching 819 cases last year, while gonorrhea cases fell 16 percent from the previous year to 6,417 cases, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said.
The majority of people with gonorrhea were men, while the most common age group was 25 to 34, she said.
Photo: CNA
“However, annual case numbers of syphilis show a different trend than the previous two diseases, as 9,935 cases were reported last year, about 2 percent higher than the year before, and the numbers indicate a slightly increasing trend,” Lee said.
A breakdown by age groups shows that syphilis is also most common among people aged 25 to 34, but cases reported among people aged 15 to 24 have been steadily and significantly growing, she said.
Syphilis cases among people aged 15 to 24 have increased from 938 cases in 2020 to 1,754 cases in 2024, with 1,892 cases reported last year, indicating an increasing trend, CDC data showed.
The asymptomatic phases of syphilis can easily mislead a person to believe that they no longer have the disease, even though the bacteria that causes the disease continues to spread through the body and damage organs, CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said.
Symptoms typically develop within 10 to 90 days — usually at about three weeks — after exposure to the bacterium Treponema pallidum, which commonly begins with a firm painless skin ulceration, known as a chancre, in the genital area, followed by the swelling of nearby lymph nodes, he said.
People in the primary stage can easily pass the infection to partners, as fluid from the chancre contains a high concentration of the bacteria, Lin said, adding that chancres often heal on their own in a few weeks without treatment, but the bacteria would continue to spread in the body.
Secondary syphilis is when symptoms reoccur weeks or months after the initial infection, characterized by a non-itchy rash covering the body as the bacteria spreads through the bloodstream, and it can also invade the central nervous system, leading to headaches and vomiting, he said.
The symptoms can resolve on their own and enter another “latent stage,” but the infected person remains contagious for at least the first year of infection, Lin said.
Left untreated up to three to seven years or more, the disease enters the tertiary stage, with symptoms including gummas (soft tumor-like growths) on the skin, bones or internal organs; cardiovascular and neurosyphilis issues; or irreversible damage to the organs, including the eyes and ears, which, in some, cases poses fatal risks, he said.
HIV/AIDS, gonorrhea, syphilis and mpox are sexually transmitted infections (STI) that are mainly transmitted through unprotected sex, and their initial symptoms can sometimes be mistaken as other diseases and neglected, he said.
People who have engaged in unprotected sex with multiple partners or a partner whose STI status is unknown, are advised to get tested for STIs every three to six months, Lin said.
The CDC also advises people to learn proper contraceptive use and use only water-based lubricants to prevent breakage of condoms, never oil-based products, he said
People should also seek medical attention for post-exposure prophylaxis within 72 hours after having unprotected sex with a potential STI infected person, he added.
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