Feature image caption: Testing for syphilis is easy. Your general practitioner (GP) or a sexual health clinic can run the test and help get any infection treated.
Australians are facing the highest rates of syphilis this country has ever seen, but it can be treated, and it’s even easier to prevent.
Syphilis is a sexually transmissible infection (STI) that can cause serious illness and disability if you do not treat it.
For pregnant people, a syphilis infection can be passed on to the baby. It can cause serious harm and even death.
In 2023, syphilis infections were recorded in almost every region of the country.
Head of the interim Australian Centre for Disease Control, Professor Paul Kelly has labelled the rate of infections an epidemic.
‘Australians can’t afford to be coy about STIs like syphilis. This is a serious problem and we need everyone to be aware,’ Professor Kelly says.
‘The only shame people should feel about syphilis is not doing anything about it. Treatment is simple and prevention is easy.
‘Safe sex practices including barrier methods, such as condoms or dental dams, are effective at preventing the spread. But beating syphilis by getting it treated and cured is the best outcome for everyone.’
Untreated syphilis can cause heart disease, mental illness, blindness, hearing loss and spinal cord issues. It can lead to permanent disability and even death.
Professor Kelly warned that syphilis can be a hidden danger for anyone who is sexually active.
‘Some syphilis infections don’t present symptoms, so the only way to know for sure is to get tested,’ he says.
‘Some people may develop a rash and painless sores, while these often clear up by themselves, the infection remains. Treatment is the only way to be sure you’re free of it.
‘A pregnant person should have a syphilis test as part of their antenatal care to protect their baby.’
A person infected with syphilis when pregnant can pass the infection onto the unborn baby. This can lead to miscarriage, stillbirth, birth defects or death shortly after birth. This is termed congenital syphilis.
‘Doctors can treat syphilis safely during pregnancy, and if treated early you can avoid transmission to the baby.
‘Losing a baby is a tragedy. Losing a baby because of an easily treated infection is a travesty that shouldn’t happen in a modern country like Australia,’ Professor Kelly says.
Your GP or a sexual health clinic in your state and territory can test for syphilis and other STIs.
See more resources about syphilis.
Image caption: The rates of syphilis infection and congenital syphilis in Australia are at record highs. More than 5,550 cases have been reported in 2024, to 28 August.
Source: National Notifiable Disease Surveillance System Visualisation Tool.
Image caption: Graph showing congenital syphilis cases (blue) and deaths (orange) from 2011 to 2023.