One baby with syphilis born every hour in China: US research


One child was born with syphilis every hour in China in 2008, researchers said Thursday, as new money from the country's growing economy fuels the world's fastest-growing epidemic of the disease.

Syphilis was almost wiped out in China 50 years ago, but it is now the most commonly reported sexually transmitted disease in Shanghai, according to the article in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Female sex workers and homosexual men are driving the infection rate, the researchers said, and there is evidence that social pressures are discouraging people from seeking treatment at official clinics.

More funding from government and greater recognition of the disease as a public health issue were needed to bring syphilis under control, the article said.

pdw/hg


COPYRIGHT 2002 Agence France-Presse. All rights reserved.

Disclaimer: References or links to other sites from Wellness.com does not constitute recommendation or endorsement by Wellness.com. We bear no responsibility for the content of websites other than Wellness.com.
Community Comments
Be the first to comment.