A south Dublin hospital has opened a walk-in STI testing clinic in response to the recent syphilis outbreak in Ireland.
The clinic at St Vincent's Hospital will be open every Friday in July from 8:30am to 12:30pm and 1:30pm to 4pm.
The hospital made the move after the HSE confirmed a national outbreak of early infectious syphilis (EIS) in earlier this week.
Authorities warned the situation requires "urgent action" after a small decrease in cases of the treatable illness in 2020.
The majority of cases have been reported in males although there is also an increase in female cases and heterosexual transmission.
The majority of cases continued to be reported by HSE East (Dublin, Kildare, Wicklow); in 2020 the crude incidence rate was 27.7/100,000 population for HSE East, over double the national rate.
From 01/01/2021 to 13/05/2021, case numbers have been highest in HSE East, 79% of cases, followed by HSE South (Cork, Kerry), 9% of cases, and HSE Midwest (Limerick, Clare, Tipperary North), 4% of cases.
Common symptoms of secondary syphilis are:
- A non-itchy rash can occur anywhere on the body (often on the palms of the hands or soles of the feet)
- Flu-like symptoms; tiredness, headaches, joint pains, fever
- Hair loss
- Lymphadenopathy
- Painful eyes or blurring of vision
The HSE has said: "All individuals with newly diagnosed syphilis should be referred to Genitourinary or Infectious Diseases services for assessment, treatment and follow up."
