The Epinhood (TEH)

SYPHILIS, GONOCOCCAL DISEASE – UK (02): (ENGLAND) REBOUND POST COVID
PANDEMIC

A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org

Date: Wed 14 Jun 2023 06:00 BST
Source: The Shields Gazette. [edited] https://www.shieldsgazette.com/health/sexual-health-data-shows-syphilis-rates-rise-across-south-tyneside-with-500-increase-one-year-4181436

New data have shown the rate of infection of syphilis and gonorrhoea
in South Tyneside [metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, north east
England] have risen drastically as part of a wider UK trend which has
shown STI [sexually transmitted infections] numbers hit record levels
across England.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) revealed on 6 Jun 2023 how
syphilis and gonorrhoea cases had surged to record levels in England
last year (2022). Gonorrhoea diagnoses in 2022 were the highest since
records began in 1918, with cases rising from 54 961 in 2021 to 82 592
in 2022, an increase of 50.3%, while syphilis diagnoses were also the
highest since 1948, with figures rising by 15.2%, from 7543 in 2021 to
8692 in 2022.

Locally, this has also been seen across South Tyneside with syphilis
rates rising by a staggering 500%. There were only 2 confirmed cases
of the STI per 100 000 residents in 2021 with levels rising sharply to
12.2 cases per 100 000 people.

Likewise, cases of gonorrhoea have also risen across the region with
145 confirmed cases in 2022, a 154% rise from 2021 figures. The most
recent data gives South Tyneside a gonorrhoea diagnostic rate of 98
cases per 100 000 residents.

West Lindsey in Lincolnshire has seen the greatest increase between
2021 and 2022 with syphilis infection rates rising 800% from 1 case
per 100 000 people in 2021 to 9.4 per 100 000 people in 2022. London
had England’s highest rates of syphilis and gonorrhoea last year, with
Lambeth the worst affected local authority in the country for both
infections, analysis of official health figures shows.