Syphilis - Annual Epidemiological Report for 2018
Executive Summary
- In 2018, 33 927 confirmed syphilis cases were reported in 29 EU/EEA Member States, with a crude notification rate of 7.0 cases per 100 000 population.
- Reported syphilis rates were nine times higher in men than in women and showed a peak for 25–34-year-old men (29 cases per 100 000 population).
- More than two-thirds (69%) of syphilis cases with information on transmission category were reported in men who have sex with men (MSM).
- The trend in syphilis rates has been on the rise since 2011 and up to 2017, particularly among men and mainly due to an increase in the number of cases among MSM. In 2018, the increase seems to have halted.
- Compared with 2017, the number of MSM cases with HIV-negative status increased by 7% in 2018.
Syphilis - Annual Epidemiological Report for 2018
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Genital chlamydia is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the Chlamydia trachomatis bacterium.
Congenital syphilis is the infection of a foetus with syphilis following the infection of the mother during pregnancy. ‘Congenital’ indicates that the foetus also becomes infected during pregnancy.
Gonorrhoea is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae bacteria.
Hepatitis B is a liver disease that results from infection with the hepatitis B virus (HBV) and is spread through contact with infected body fluids or blood products.
Hepatitis C is a liver disease caused by infection with the hepatitis C virus (HCV). HCV can cause both acute and chronic hepatitis infection, ranging in severity from a mild illness that lasts only a few weeks to a serious, lifelong illness resulting in cirrhosis and liver cancer.
HIV is a virus which attacks the immune system and causes a lifelong severe illness with a long incubation period. The end-stage of the infection, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), results from the destruction of the immune system.
LGV is a systemic STI caused by a specific type of Chlamydia trachomatis ( serovars L1 , L2, and L3 ).
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum. It may also be transmitted mother-to-child (congenital syphilis).
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