The Epinhood (TEH)

SYPHILIS – JAPAN (04): INCREASE

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: Tue 23 May 2023 11:21
Source: Yahoo, Japan [in Japanese, trans., edited] https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/a6b838f86ec48e9e2e74f312c770eaeaf25e6d0b

The number of patients diagnosed with syphilis, a sexually transmitted
disease, has surpassed 5000 this year [2023], according to the results
of a survey by the National Institute of Infectious Diseases announced
on 23 May 2023.

Experts are calling for caution, about a month earlier than last year
[2022], when the number of patients (12 966) was the highest since
1999 when the current survey method was adopted.

The number of syphilis patients nationwide has increased rapidly in
recent years. [A graph of the annual number of syphilis cases from
2000 to week 42 of 2022 (26 Oct 2022) is available at
https://www.yomiuri.co.jp/pluralphoto/20230511-OYTNI50027/. These
numbers of cases likely represent total syphilis cases, including all
stages, that is, primary, secondary, latent, and tertiary:

Year / cases

2000 / 759

2001 / 585

2002 / 575

2003 / 509

2004 / 533

2005 / 543

2006 / 637

2007 / 719

2008 / 827

2009 / 691

2010 / 621

2011 / 827

2012 / 875

2013 / 1228

2014 / 1661

2015 / 2690

2016 / 4575

2017 / 5826

2018 / 7007

2019 / 6642

2020 / 5867

2021 / 7978 and

2022 / 10 141
https://www.niid.go.jp/niid/images/idwr/douko/2022d/img42/42chumoku_01b.gif).]

According to the infectious disease outbreak trend survey (preliminary
figures) published by the Institute of Infectious Diseases every week,
the number of patients from the beginning of this year to 14 May 2023
was 5164. In the same period last year [2022], it was 3630. By
prefecture, Tokyo had the highest number of deaths at 1332, followed
by cities such as Osaka (699) and Fukuoka (257).

Syphilis is mainly transmitted through sexual contact. A blood test
can tell if you have the infection and it can be cured with
antibiotics. Symptoms include rashes all over the body, swollen lymph
nodes, and genital ulcers, but initial symptoms are mild. If you don’t
notice the infection, you can spread the infection to others.

Of particular concern is the infection of pregnant women. If a
pregnant woman is infected, ‘congenital syphilis’, in which the fetus
is infected through the placenta, may occur. There is an increased
risk of stillbirth and birth with disabilities, and miscarriage and
premature birth may occur.

Satoshi Takahashi, a professor at Sapporo Medical University and
president of the Japanese Society of Sexually Infectious Diseases,
said, “As the number of infected people increases, there is a
possibility that congenital syphilis will increase. Syphilis is a
curable disease, so if you have any symptoms or concerns, don’t
hesitate. I want you to be tested,” he said.