Prevalence and risk factors of syphilis infection among drug addicts

Abstract

Background: Recent epidemiological data show an increased trend of official estimates for syphilis infection in the general population. Many of the infected cases remain undetected leaving an underestimation of the true prevalence of syphilis in the general population, but also among subpopulations such as illicit drug users. There is limited epidemiological data published on the proportion and risk factors of syphilis infections associated with illicit drug abuse.

Seroprevalence of certain bacterial and viral infections among the Irula tribal population of Marakkanam, Tamil Nadu state, India

“…This was in conformity with the findings of Todd et al (2001) who also reported higher prevalence of T. pallidum infection in women (9.1%) than in men (7.5%) in a rural African population where polygamy is common. In another study, a higher rate of infection in women with T. pallidum than men was observed with the findings of Scherbaum et al (2005) who reported that women had up to 4.5% higher prevalence of infection than men in Germany. The present finding on syphilis is almost in agreement with earlier reports in Irulas by Kanthesh et al (2004) as 4.22% and Kalaivani et al (2001) in Kolli hills Malayali tribes as 7.4%.…”

Prevalence and associated factors of Treponema pallidum infection in a rural area of southwestern China

“…In our study, 30 out of the 89 subjects who used drugs had a co-infection. These results highlighted the necessity of routine HCV testing for T. pallidum infected individuals [29], and also suggested that preventing syphilis should be included as a part of HBV control strategies. Targeted trainings for physicians and expanded syphilis screening services for HBV positive individuals are urgently needed [30,31].…”

Managing congenital syphilis again? The more things change …

“…Among women, syphilis primarily affects those who are most likely to conceive, mandating screening for syphilis antenatally. Localized outbreaks have been associated with commercial sex workers and cocaine usage [9,11,12], with an over-representation of pregnant women from ethnic minorities born outside the UK [13]. Recent studies [13,14,15 ] have raised concerns that current antenatal strategies may be inadequate in the identification and treatment of women at risk.…”