Hi All
I just received an email the other day in regard to the number of syphilis cases in BC. I thought it would be good to share the news with everyone.
So far it appears that the cases of infectious syphilis have been declining
.
Back in 1997 we had approximately 50 cases in BC, this number increased until a peak in 2006-2008 where we had approximately 330 new cases per year. In 2009 it started to drop down to approximately 220 cases and so far for 2010 we only have around 65 cases. Hopefully this trend will continue.
We have found that people getting tested for syphilis has really helped with getting these numbers down. Syphilis is usually tested from a blood test. Most doctors in BC are doing syphilis tests when testing for HIV but this does not always happen. Best to ask your doctor to make sure they add the test. On your blood form you take to the lab the syphilis test would be written as RPR.
The reason we recommend regular blood tests is because we find most people have not been getting symptoms to syphilis (e.g. They feel fine). If someone did get symptoms it could show up as painless sores and rashes.
Syphilis is completely curable with antibiotics. If left untreated it can cause lots of problems down the road. It can be dangerous if a pregnant woman gets infected. Two years ago we had two babies die when their mothers got syphilis.
Condoms offer protection against syphilis but since syphilis passes from skin to skin contact with a syphilis sore it can still pass if this happens on skin not covered by the condom. We have also found that oral sex will transmit syphilis.
Here is some links for additional information:
http://www.stdresource.com/disease/index.php?page=edit&id=4&action=viewfull
http://sexualityandu.ca/adults/sti-1-8.aspx
HN
www.healthnurse.wordpress.com
www.stiresource.com
www.bccdc.ca
I just received an email the other day in regard to the number of syphilis cases in BC. I thought it would be good to share the news with everyone.
So far it appears that the cases of infectious syphilis have been declining
. Back in 1997 we had approximately 50 cases in BC, this number increased until a peak in 2006-2008 where we had approximately 330 new cases per year. In 2009 it started to drop down to approximately 220 cases and so far for 2010 we only have around 65 cases. Hopefully this trend will continue.
We have found that people getting tested for syphilis has really helped with getting these numbers down. Syphilis is usually tested from a blood test. Most doctors in BC are doing syphilis tests when testing for HIV but this does not always happen. Best to ask your doctor to make sure they add the test. On your blood form you take to the lab the syphilis test would be written as RPR.
The reason we recommend regular blood tests is because we find most people have not been getting symptoms to syphilis (e.g. They feel fine). If someone did get symptoms it could show up as painless sores and rashes.
Syphilis is completely curable with antibiotics. If left untreated it can cause lots of problems down the road. It can be dangerous if a pregnant woman gets infected. Two years ago we had two babies die when their mothers got syphilis.
Condoms offer protection against syphilis but since syphilis passes from skin to skin contact with a syphilis sore it can still pass if this happens on skin not covered by the condom. We have also found that oral sex will transmit syphilis.
Here is some links for additional information:
http://www.stdresource.com/disease/index.php?page=edit&id=4&action=viewfull
http://sexualityandu.ca/adults/sti-1-8.aspx
HN
www.healthnurse.wordpress.com
www.stiresource.com
www.bccdc.ca
