Syphilis and HIV co-infection in Dublin; strategies to enhance diagnosis, investigation and management

Abstract

Following historically low levels of reported cases of syphilis in Dublin in the 1990s there was a large outbreak of syphilis reported in 2001. Numerous interventions were implemented and the rates again decreased in 2003. In 2008 a cluster of five patients with ocular syphilis presented in a short time period. This prompted a review of the number of cases of syphilis presenting to the Department of Genitourinary Medicine and Infectious Diseases in St. James’s Hospital.