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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2009
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Syphilis Makes a Surprise Comeback

Infection rates in Europe have soared on safe-sex fatigue

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(Newser) – Syphilis, the sexual scourge of the 19th century, was all but vanquished in Europe in the fifties. But it's making a comeback, with 2006 UK infection rates 10 times what they were a decade earlier, and other nations boasting similar stats. Health officials blame the upsurge on the rise of online dating sites and "safe sex fatigue" after the HIV awareness campaigns of the nineties.

"The evidence points to an increase in unsafe sexual behavior since anti-retrovirals for AIDS came along in 1996," said one public health analyst. While gay urban men are the population at highest risk, the disease has made a comeback in straight men and women as well, which could lead to a resurgence of congenital syphilis.

A microscopic image of spiral-shaped organisms responsible for causing syphilis.
A microscopic image of spiral-shaped organisms responsible for causing syphilis.   (Wikimedia Commons)
The spread of risky sex, possibly facilitated by online dating, has brought with it a resurgence of syphilis in Europe.
The spread of risky sex, possibly facilitated by online dating, has brought with it a resurgence of syphilis in Europe.   (Shutterstock.com)
In France, there were 428 reported cases of syphilis in 2003, almost 16 times the number just three years previous.
In France, there were 428 reported cases of syphilis in 2003, almost 16 times the number just three years previous.   (Shutterstock.com)
  (Shutterstock.com)
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