A mediaeval disease is making a comeback across England, with cases on the rise in across the country. According to data, there were 60 reported cases of syphilis in Nottinghamshire, the ancient sexually transmitted disease, in 2022 - with a rate of 7.3 cases per 100,000 people.
Across the country, cases have increased by 15 per cent to nearly 8,700 diagnoses last year - the largest annual number since 1948. A decade ago there were 3,000 cases of syphilis diagnosed in England, just over a third as many as last year, while the infection rate has trebled from 5.6 syphilis cases per 100,000 of the population in 2012 to 15.4 last year.
Dr Hamish Mohammed, Consultant Epidemiologist at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), said: “Increased testing is likely to have played a part in the rise in gonorrhoea and syphilis diagnoses, but the scale of the increase strongly suggests that there is more transmission of these STIs within the population. There is some evidence to suggest that this may be due to more people having condomless sex with new or casual partners.”
