Number of syphilis cases goes up

A total of approximately 370 people in Slovakia were diagnosed with syphilis in 2014, a year-on-year rise of more than 23 percent. According to the Public Health Office, the number of cases of the disease has been increasing over the past decade. Syphilis cases were reported across Slovakia, with the disease most prevalent in the Bratislava and Kosice regions. The lowest number of cases was seen in Banská Bystrica. "Six children under 15 were diagnosed with syphilis, too, including a baby who was born with the disease in the Trebišov district", reads the report on the health of Slovak citizens. Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection with an incubation period of between one-three weeks. If left untreated, the infection can progress to a second stage in which the symptoms most commonly involve the skin, lymph nodes and mucous membranes.