Recent outbreaks of infectious syphilis, United Kingdom, January 2012 to April 2014

I Simms; L Wallace; D R Thomas; L Emmett; A G Shankar; M Vinson; S Padfield; U Andrady; C Whiteside; C J Williams; C Midgley; C Johnman; A McLellan; A Currie; J Logan; G Leslie; K Licence; G Hughes

doi:10.2807/1560-7917.ES2014.19.24.20833

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Recent outbreaks of infectious syphilis, United Kingdom, January 2012 to April 2014
I Simms¹ , L Wallace² , D R Thomas³ , L Emmett⁴ , A G Shankar⁵ , M Vinson⁶ , S Padfield⁷ , U Andrady⁸ , C Whiteside³ , C J Williams³ , C Midgley³ , C Johnman⁹ , A McLellan⁹ , A Currie⁹ , J Logan⁹ , G Leslie¹⁰ , K Licence¹⁰ , G Hughes¹
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Affiliations: ¹ HIV&STI Department, Health Protection Services, Public Health England, London, United Kingdom ² Health Protection Scotland, United Kingdom ³ Public Health Wales, United Kingdom ⁴ Eastern Field Epidemiological Unit, Public Health England, United Kingdom ⁵ Anglia & Essex Public Health England Centre, United Kingdom ⁶ South Midlands and Hertfordshire Public Health England Centre, United Kingdom ⁷ Yorkshire and Humber Field Epidemiological Unit Public Health England, United Kingdom ⁸ Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, United Kingdom ⁹ NHS Lanarkshire, United Kingdom ¹⁰ NHS Tayside, United Kingdom

Correspondence:
I Simms
Ian.Simms phe.gov.uk
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Citation style for this article: Simms I, Wallace L, Thomas D R, Emmett L, Shankar A G, Vinson M, Padfield S, Andrady U, Whiteside C, Williams C J, Midgley C, Johnman C, McLellan A, Currie A, Logan J, Leslie G, Licence K, Hughes G. Recent outbreaks of infectious syphilis, United Kingdom, January 2012 to April 2014. Euro Surveill. 2014;19(24):pii=20833. https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES2014.19.24.20833 Received: 12 Jun 2014

Abstract

Six outbreaks of infectious syphilis in the United Kingdom, ongoing since 2012, have been investigated among men who have sex with men (MSM) and heterosexual men and women aged under 25 years. Interventions included case finding and raising awareness among healthcare professionals and the public. Targeting at-risk populations was complicated as many sexual encounters involved anonymous partners. Outbreaks among MSM were influenced by the use of geospatial real-time networking applications that allow users to locate other MSM within close proximity.