DISEASE ‘detectives’ have spotted a worrying new trend in people suffering from early stages of syphilis who have reported vision and hearing loss.
It’s not uncommon for the 15th-century sexually transmitted infection (STI) to damage people’s vision or hearing if left untreated for years.
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But new search presented at the 2024 Epidemic Intelligence Service Conference in Atlanta, states that syphilis sufferers are reporting these typically advanced symptoms in the early stages of the disease.
Chicago-based researchers said 28 people reported these types of symptoms in the city last year and nearly a third of them were in the early stages of infection.
Additionally, more than a third of these patients (68 percent) had not experienced other symptoms typically caused by syphilis, such as rashes or sores on the genitals or mouth, as reported by CNN.
Doctors often use these types of symptoms to detect whether someone has syphilis, so it was concerning to researchers that some patients did not get them.
“Providers definitely need to do more testing and be aware that this is what we are seeing,” said Dr. Amy Nham, lead author of the study and one of the “disease detectives” assigned to the Chicago Department of Public Health.
Syphilis is an STI that can cause serious health problems if left untreated.
It typically spreads through direct skin-to-skin contact, according to the NHS, most commonly through unprotected vaginal, anal or oral sex with someone infected.
But it can also be transmitted to the fetus during pregnancy, known as congenital syphilis.
Syphilis was common during medieval times, with an epidemic breaking out in Europe in mid-1490s.
It remained a significant medical problem until the mid-20th century, with medical advances leading to better treatments and a dramatic drop in the number of cases.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t the last time we’ve seen a 15th century STI, as cases have been on the rise in recent years.
Recent government figures show that the diagnosis of syphilis in England reached its highest level since 1948, following trends observed in the USA, where the disease reached levels not recorded since the 1950s.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization estimated that 7.1 million adults aged 15 to 49 acquired it globally in 2020.
In the US, men who have sex with men have historically been most affected by syphilis.
But infections in heterosexual men and women have more than doubled since 2019, with congenital syphilis also on the rise.
Nham was tasked with examining cases of syphilis with unusual symptoms — known as neurosyphilis, ocular syphilis and otic syphilis or NOO syphilis — after Chicago health care providers signaled they were noticing an increase.
After combing through medical records dated between January and August 2023, she identified 28 people with NOO syphilis, 75% of them men and 71% black, aged between 23 and 82.
About half said they were heterosexual, while six of them were gay.
One in three patients (32 percent) was HIV-positive.
Dr. Nham said she hoped more people would do so, as having HIV can make syphilis symptoms more severe.
Symptoms of syphilis and its stages
The symptoms of syphilis are often mild, making them difficult to detect.
They also tend to change over time and come and go, so it’s easy to assume you’re not infected, even when you are.
The most common symptoms of the infection include:
- Small sores (ulcers) on the penis, vagina or around the butt (anus) – these are usually painless and you may only have one of these
- Sores in other areas, including the mouth or lips, hands or buttocks
- White or gray warty growths, most commonly on the penis, vagina, or around the anus
- A rash on the palms and soles of the feet that can sometimes spread across the body – usually not itchy
- White spots in the mouth
- Flu-like symptoms such as high temperature, headaches and tiredness
- Swollen glands
- Patchy hair loss on head, beard and eyebrows
These signs may not appear until three weeks (or more) after infection.
Sometimes symptoms may improve or disappear completely, but if you haven’t been treated, the infection will still be in your body.
This means you can still pass it on and risk serious problems later.
Potential complications include:
- Heart problems such as angina, aortic aneurysm and heart failure
- Brain problems such as seizures (seizures), memory problems, personality changes and dementia
- Nerve problems such as sharp pains, pins and needles, joint pain, and gradual joint damage
- Problems with the skin, bones, testicles, liver and any other organ
Syphilis tends to happen in stages.
- Primary stage – between two to 12 weeks after exposure (patients develop painless sores on the genitals that can heal on their own)
- Secondary stage – between one to six months after the primary stage (patients may develop an itchy rash)
- Latent stage (patients show no signs but remain infectious)
- Tertiary stage (patients may develop complications)
Some of these problems may not appear for many years after syphilis infection.
At any time during the infection, the syphilis bacteria – Treponema pallidum – can invade the nervous system and affect the brain, eyes or ears.
This can cause headaches, brain swelling, strokes and mental changes.
Eyes may become sensitive to light or swollen, or vision may be affected, and people may also experience hearing loss, dizziness or tinnitus if the infection reaches the ears.
Source: NHS, WHO, CDC
Nineteen of the 28 patients did not have typical symptoms of syphilis, such as sores or rashes.
The most common symptoms patients experienced were headaches, personality changes or altered mental status, and eye problems such as vision loss, sensitivity to light, or eye swelling.
“These are not the most specific symptoms, that’s why it’s really important for providers to do adequate screening and ask patients about risk factors,” Dr. Nham said.
The study only focused on syphilis cases in Chicago, but Dr. Nham said she has been collecting case reports from other parts of the U.S. and said doctors are seeing similar trends in other parts of the country.
She speculated that the increase in atypical symptoms could be due to a shortage of treatments for syphilis in the US.
The preferred treatment for syphilis is a long-acting penicillin injection called Bicillin LA, which has been out of stock for a year.
Dr. Nham warned, “There may just be an increase in untreated or inadequately treated patients, which is leading to more severe syphilis outcomes.”
This comes after a cluster of syphilis eye infections were reported in Michigan after five women slept with the same man.
In the UK, doctors have been warned to look out for syphilis in all pregnant women under new NHS guidelines, after doctors flagged an “increasing number of diagnoses” of the medieval STI in both pregnant women and unborn babies. .
Experts say syphilis can be treated if detected early, but can be serious and potentially fatal in the long term if left undetected.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
