Syphilis epidemic hits China

PHOTO

Sexual health: condom production line in Tianjin, China. [Reuters]

Last Updated: Wed, 4 Nov 2009 08:21:00 +1100

A senior public health official in China says the country is experiencing an epidemic of syphilis.

The country almost eradicated the sexually transmitted disease in the 1960s.

Xiang-Sheng Chen, from China's Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, says mass migration of rural workers to Chinese cities has been a major factor in the spread of syphilis.

Dr Chen, deputy director for control of sexually transmitted disease, says there were nearly 280,000 official reports of syphilis infections in 2008.

This is three times the number from 2004 and a tenfold increase over the past decade.