National Outbreak of Early Infectious Syphilis (EIS) .

Sunday, 18 July 2021 09:40

By Clem Ryan

79% of Cases in Dublin, Kildare and Wicklow.

A national outbreak of early infectious syphilis (EIS) has been declared in Ireland.

Jane Moore, in the Journal.ie, reports that the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) confirmed this week that there is a “potentially large undiagnosed reservoir of syphilis infection in Ireland due in part to the impact of COVID-19″.

A spokesperson for the HSE Sexual Health and Crisis Pregnancy Programme said that the pandemic led to “significant restrictions” in people’s access to testing in sexual health clinics.

Cases had been rising here before the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite a significant decline during the first wave of the pandemic, cases increased throughout last year with a total of 562 reported.

The HPSC has said that cases are rising. 242 cases were reported in the first four months of the year.

79% of cases were in Dublin, Kildare and Wicklow.

91% were in males while the proportion of cases in females has nearly doubled from 4.5% in 2018 to 9% in 2021.

The highest rates were in those aged 30 to 34 at 22%, and those aged 25 to 29 at 20%. 1.

Syphilis is easily treated but highly infectious

The HSE says that if left untreated, it can cause “serious health problems”.

It can also pass from pregnant women to their child, potentially causing serious harm.

The outbreak has been partly attributed to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on health services.