Sexual Health
What season is the high incidence of syphilis? What tests are needed for latent syphilis
Post Date May, 13 2023
Among Class B infectious diseases, the top five diseases with the highest incidence are syphilis, tuberculosis, viral hepatitis, gonorrhea and dysentery. Among them, there are 3517 cases of syphilis, ranking first. Since July, syphilis has been ranked first among Class B infectious diseases for three consecutive months. In dermatology clinics of many hospitals in Hangzhou, syphilis patients have also increased significantly in recent months.
The incidence of syphilis increases every summer
From January to September this year, there were 26890 cases of syphilis in Zhejiang Province. From January to June, among Class B infectious diseases, tuberculosis ranked first and syphilis ranked second. But since July, for three consecutive months, syphilis has exceeded the number of cases of tuberculosis infection, ranking first in the incidence of Class B infectious diseases.
Over the years, syphilis has basically ranked first or second among Class B infectious diseases in Zhejiang Province. However, since 2011, the incidence rate of syphilis in Zhejiang Province has not increased significantly, but has declined. The incidence rate in 2011 was 79.95/100000, and the incidence rate in 2012 was 625.4/100000, 17% lower than that in 2011. In 2013, a total of 31821 syphilis cases were reported in the province, with a incidence rate of 58.10/100000, down 7.11% from 2012.
From the monitoring situation, the number of reported cases of syphilis in Zhejiang Province is higher in the second and third quarters of each year than in the first and fourth quarters. Due to the close relationship between syphilis infection and unsafe sexual behavior, the probability of unsafe sexual behavior occurring in the second and third quarters is relatively higher than in the first and fourth quarters. Therefore, the incidence rate from July to September increases and changes normally in the short term.
How to diagnose the latent period of syphilis
1. Dark Horizon Microscopy Inspection
Dark field microscopy is a method for detecting Treponema pallidum. The dark field of view, as the name suggests, lacks bright light under a microscope, making it easy to detect pale spirochetes. This is a pathogen test, which is of great significance for the early diagnosis of syphilis.
2. Syphilis serum test
Syphilis serum test is of great significance in diagnosing stage 2 and stage 3 syphilis, as well as in determining the development and recovery of syphilis, and in determining the efficacy of drugs. The syphilis serum test includes the non syphilis spirochete serum test and the syphilis spirochete serum test. The former is commonly used for clinical screening and determining the effectiveness of treatment. The results can be obtained within 1 hour after blood sampling, and the cost is also low. The latter is mainly used for testing, but cannot determine the treatment effect. After suffering from syphilis, the test is lifelong positive.
