Harvard ProMed: SYPHILIS in SWEDEN

SYPHILIS - SWEDEN: RISING INCIDENCE, DECREASING CONDOM USE
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A ProMED-mail post

ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases


Date: Thu 10 Jul 2014
Source: The Swedish Wire [edited]



Swedish Radio News said the Scandinavian country saw a sharp uptick in
the number of cases of syphilis last year [2013], while new cases of
chlamydia and gonorrhea are showing signs of slowing down.

The agency reported 275 new cases of syphilis, an increase of 37
percent from 2012; half of which have taken place abroad.

"Changed sexual behavior has contributed to sexually transmitted
diseases becoming common. Studies show that condom use among young
people is quite low with new and casual partners," epidemiologist Inga
Velicko at the agency told Swedish Radio.

[Byline: Johan Nylander]

--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail from HealthMap Alerts


[The increased incidence of syphilis in Sweden is similar to the
situation in the US and other countries (see prior ProMED-mail posts
below). In many countries, the increased incidence of syphilis is
occurring mainly among men who have sex with men (MSM), and has been
characterized by high rates of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
co-infection, high-risk sexual behavior, use of drugs such as
methamphetamines, use of Internet chat rooms to meet sex partners
(), and more
recently, use of smartphone applications like Grindr, a gay social
networking site. The news report above does not give more information
about the epidemiology of the rising incidence of syphilis in Sweden.

However, a Eurosurveillance article in 2008 reported that the spread
of syphilis in Sweden among MSM, particularly in the big cities, has
been a major contributor to an increase in cases in that country
(Velicko I, Arneborn M, Blaxhult A. Syphilis epidemiology in Sweden:
re-emergence since 2000 primarily due to spread among men who have sex
with men. Eurosurveill. 2008;13(50). Available online:
).
Estimated syphilis incidence among Swedish MSM was up to 28 times
higher than in the general Swedish male population. The most affected
age group among males was 25-44 years of age. The majority of
infections in men and women through heterosexual contacts were
acquired abroad, whereas the majority of infections attributed to sex
between men were acquired in Sweden. - Mod.ML

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