| Written by Fraser, |
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Once considered a disease associated with the 19th century bohemian lifestyle, syphilis is on the rise in Europe. "Syphilis used to be a very rare disease," said Dr. Marita van de Laar, an expert in sexually transmitted diseases at the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. "I'm not sure we can say that anymore."
Men account for most syphilis cases, and experts point to more risky sex among gay men as the chief cause for the resurgence. But more cases are being seen among heterosexual men and women. Syphilis was the sexual scourge of the 19th century and is believed to have killed artists like poet Charles Baudelaire, composer Robert Schumann and painter Paul Gauguin. But the widespread use of penicillin in the 1950s all but wiped it out in the Western world. In the last decade, however, syphilis has unexpectedly returned, driven by risky sexual behavior and outbreaks in major cities across Europe, including London, Amsterdam, Paris and Berlin. Syphilis is a bacterial disease causing symptoms that include ulcers, sores and rashes. In extreme cases, it can result in dementia or fatally damage the heart, respiratory and central nervous systems. Syphilis is treatable with antibiotics if caught early. In Europe, Van de Laar said the reappearance of syphilis was so surprising that many doctors initially had trouble diagnosing it. Though these days it mainly affects urban gay men, experts worry that the disease could also rebound in the general population if stronger efforts to fight it are not taken soon.
| Published in : , Syphilis |
| Keywords : men, accounts, most, syphilis, cases, experts, point, gay, men, among, chief, cause, resurgence, cases, being, heterosexual, bacterial, disease, symptoms, ulcers, sores, causing, disease, fight, efforts, rebounds, stronger |
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