Ireland has recorded 23 new cases of Syphilis in the last week alone.
The figures were released by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) - which releases details of STI's including Gonorrhea, Herpes, Chlamydia, Syphilis, and HIV cases.
The figures show a sharp increase in confirmed Syphilis cases nationwide, particularly in the east of the country, which accounts for 19 cases.
Just three confirmed syphilis infections were identified elsewhere around the country.
Over 625 cases of Syphilis have been reported since early 2021.
What is Syphilis?
The bacterial infection is usually caught from having sex with someone who is infected, through close contact from the infected person’s sore.
This happens through vaginal, anal, or oral sex and can also be caught from sharing sex toys with someone who is infected.
Minister of State for Public Health Frank Feighan recently announced funding of €3million for a national roll out for an online testing service for sexually transmitted infections (STI).
What age group are mostly affected?
The HSPC report shows that Syphilis cases are affecting a vast range of people aged 20 - 60, with the majority of Syphilis cases affecting the 20 - 44 cohort.
It isn’t the only STI affecting the Dublin region and other parts of the country.
The breakdown raises concerns as there were 202 Chlamydia trachomatis infections confirmed, 104 Gonorrhea cases, 45 herpes cases, and nine HIV cases.
Astonishingly, 108 of the Chlamydia cases were reported in the eastern region, compared to just 17 in the west of Ireland.
The cumulative annual figure from Weeks 1 to Week 41, shows 8,891 STIs in total were confirmed across the country since the beginning of 2021.
Overall, the 20 - 34 cohort made up the largest portion of reported STI cases.
The report highlights that more men than women had STI’s. 127 men were confirmed as having chlamydia, compared to 74 women.
22 men contracted Syphilis, compared to just 1 female.
Since the beginning of the year, 575 men got Syphilis, compared to 49 women.
