Syphilis on the verge of tripling in Yucatan this year

In Yucatan, syphilis is on the verge of tripling, since only last week a case was confirmed every 12 hours, the highest figure in two months, revealed the federal Ministry of Health.

So far this year, 412 accumulated confirmed cases of this Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) have already been detected, so there is an increase of 176.51 percent compared to the same period in 2021, when the sum was 149 infected.

Even, it already surpassed the total recorded during the two previous years, since in 2020, the total was 133 cases, while 2021 closed with 171 infected.
In terms of gender, the pathology affected 302 men, 73.3 percent, and 110 women, 26.7 percent.

Yucatan ranked 16th in the national incidence table, with 2.76 percent of the total number of cases in the country, and at the regional level, the problem is greater in Quintana Roo, where there are 825 positive cases, 5.53 percent, while in Campeche there are 113 confirmed cases, 0.75 percent.

The epidemiologist of the Mexican League for the Defense of Human Rights (Limeddh), Eulogio Perez Peniche, stressed the urgency of carrying out prevention activities and timely detection of STDs, including syphilis.

He warned that the problem “is only the tip of the iceberg, since syphilis is the prelude to hepatitis B and C as well as HIV/AIDS”.

The lack of campaigns for the prevention of STD, as well as the lack of programs for the opportune detection of this type of ailment, which only operate once a year, specifically on December 1, World AIDS Day, was regretted.

“In Yucatan there should be a systematic campaign for the prevention of sexual diseases, directed especially to middle and high school students, who will have the correct information to avoid the proliferation of this disease,” he said.

He remarked that the increase of syphilis is a consequence of the disinformation that young people have, so he considered that the health sector should resume the activities in all basic education schools as well as in high schools.

“Currently, the health sector focuses on providing medicines and carrying out follow-up studies, but neglects prevention activities, which will help reduce the serious incidence that prevails in Yucatan, as well as the appearance of other related illnesses, such as hepatitis and HIV/AIDS,” he said.

He commented that syphilis can be controlled with simple treatments, but the cheapest and most effective is prevention.

According to him, syphilis is a venereal disease caused by a bacterium, Treponema pallidum, which, once acquired, infects the genital area, lips, mouth or anus, affecting both men and women.

It is usually acquired through sexual contact with a person who has it, and can also be passed from mother to baby during pregnancy.

Early stage syphilis usually causes a single, small, painless sore. Sometimes it causes swelling of nearby lymph nodes.

Without medical attention, it usually causes a non-itchy rash, often on the hands and feet.

Many people do not notice the symptoms for years, which then disappear and return. Sores caused by syphilis make it easier to acquire or spread HIV during sex.

TYT Newsroom