Syphilis: Is it making resurgence?

Syphilis, the "great imitator", presents with a wide range of mucocutaneous and systemic manifestations, which can mimic many more diseases. Though there has been a rising prevalence of viral sexually transmitted infections (STIs), syphilis is not an uncommon diagnosis.

To study the recent trend of acquired syphilis in the patients attending STI clinic.

Retrospective analysis of all the syphilis patients registered with STI clinic of our institute from January 2013 to December 2014 was done. Thorough sociodemographic, clinical, and investigational data were assessed and compared with the annual incidence of last 4 years.

Of the total 1010 STI patients who attended the STI clinic, 110 cases were diagnosed as syphilis. There were 78 (70.9%) males and 32 (29.1%) females. Twenty-five (22.7%) patients were men who have sex with men (MSM). Primary syphilis was diagnosed in 28 (25.5%), secondary in 47 (42.7%), and latent in 35 (31.8%) cases. Lymphadenopathy was present in 55 (50%) patients with syphilis. Mixed infection was diagnosed in 29 (26.4%) patients of whom genital herpes was the most common. Twenty-seven (24.5%) patients were human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) reactive.

Incidence of syphilis has shown a rising trend over past few years. The major risk factors considered are the HIV infection and homosexual behavior.