Time for national syphilis action

Since 2002, infectious syphilis has re-emerged among populations of gay and other homosexually active men in Australian capital cities, in particular among those who participate in highly sexually active subcultures.

A significant proportion of these syphilis infections are among HIV positive gay men.

Testing and prevention campaigns and other interventions to date have had limited impact in reducing incidence.

Syphilis has been identified as a priority issue due to its impact on the health of people with HIV, its potential for rapid spread and its contribution to increasing the risk of transmission and acquisition of HIV.

The Blood Borne Viruses [1]A small infective organism which is incapable of reproducing outside a host cell. and STIs [2][Sexually Transmissible (or Transmitted) Infection] Infections spread by the transfer of organisms from person to person during sexual contact. Also called venereal disease (VD) (an older public health term) or sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Subcommittee (BBVSS) has committed to develop a National Syphilis Action Plan to analyse and address current gaps in policy and programs and to describe a coordinated national strategy to reduce the incidence of syphilis among gay men. Work in preparing the plan will be managed by the AIDS and Infectious Diseases Branch of NSW Health.

The plan is due out shortly and will provide a framework to guide future planning of policy and programming. It will include an analysis of emerging understandings of the natural history of syphilis infection, syphilis epidemiology [3]The branch of medical science that deals with the study of incidence and distribution and control of a disease in a population. and the mathematical modelling of outcomes that may result from a different mix of interventions and behaviour change among gay men.