Syphilis among gay men has reached epidemic proportions in Sydney and
a similar resurgence is under way in Melbourne, say researchers.

And other gay communities may be affected in time.

Syphilis notifications rose more than 20-fold in inner-Sydney between
1999 and 2003, from six cases to 162, they write in the `Medical
Journal of Australia'. They call for more frequent screening.

Syphilis was common among gay men until the early 1980s, but fell
rapidly amid the HIV / AIDS epidemic. But Andrew Grulich, of the
National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research, and
colleagues say sexually risky behaviour has increased syphilis in gay
communities since the 1990s. Separately, Victorian scientists report
a five-fold rise in syphilis notifications in the past decade.

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Source:
The Age newspaper, 15th August, 2005.
Melbourne, Australia
http://www.theage.com.au

• On the web.
National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research
http://www.med.unsw.edu.au/nchecr/

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