Syphilis in Poland in 2021-2022.

Abstract

Background: In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a significant decrease in the number of detected syphilis cases in Poland, but in the following years a more than two-fold increase in new infections was observed.

Objective: The aim of the study was to assess the epidemiological situation of syphilis cases in Poland in 2021-2022 in comparison to previous years.

Material and methods: Analysis of the epidemiological situation was based on case-based data from reports of newly detected syphilis cases recognized in 2021-2022 years and received from doctors and laboratories. Additionally aggregated data from MZ-56 reports on infectious diseases, infections and poisoning from 2016 to 2019 sent from Sanitary Inspections to NIPH NIH - NRI was used. Also, data about treatment patients in dermatology/venerology clinics in 2016-2022 reported on MZ-14 forms and published in statistics bulletin on NIPH NIH - NRI website.

Results: In 2021 in Poland 1,403 newly diagnosed syphilis cases were reported (diagnosis rate was 3.67 per 100,000), including 31 cases among non-Polish citizens. However in 2022, 44.8% more cases were diagnosed, i.e. 2,032 cases (diagnosis rate 5.38 per 100,000 inhabitants), including 75 infections of citizenship other than Polish. Between 2021-2022, the most often syphilis cases were detected among people below 40 year old (74.2%) and among men (88.4%).

Conclusions: In 2020, the number of reported a newly detected syphilis cases decreased more than by half compared to the previous year, what is probably connected with COVID-19 pandemic and action taken to limited this. However, the increase in infections observed since 2021 confirms changes in the frequency of syphilis detection in Poland observed even before the pandemic.