Alarm raised over ‘skyrocketing’ syphilis cases

By The Nation

 

Photo credit FB : Bangrak STIs centre

 

SYPHILIS is once again rearing its ugly head in Thai society, doctors have warned.

 

Although curable, this sexually transmitted disease can turn fatal if patients fail to recognise their infection and thus lose a chance to get timely treatment. 

 

Bangrak STIs centre, which is under the Disease Control Department, recently warned on its Facebook page that the number of syphilis cases had been rising at a worrying rate.

 

“It has skyrocketed,” Dr Thanyanan Kangvalpornroj of the centre posted. 

 

She said syphilis was found in both genders and in people of all ages. 

 

“It is found in newborns because their mothers get infected and are not aware of their infection,” the doctor said.

 

She explained that in the first and second phases of syphilis, symptoms could disappear without any treatment but the symptoms became serious when the disease reached its third phase.

 

According to Thanyanan, the biggest group of patients suffering from sexually transmitted diseases are teenage students at high schools and universities. Not long after the centre raised the alarm, it was reported that a girl under 15 years old had contracted syphilis while being pregnant with twin foetuses. Her partner is also younger than 15. 

 

“Caring for the pregnant, I have myself detected a syphilis case every week,” the administrator of Hospitalstale said. 

 

Doctors often report that patients who have contracted syphilis also tested positive to HIV – both are communicable via sexual intercourse. 

 

A second Facebook page, Hospitalstale, complained that one possible cause is that people in Thai society might have lowered their guard in recent years amid a climate of lower fears over AIDS/HIV. 

 

The page is strongly advising people to avoid risky sexual behaviour; in particular, it said condoms were an essential part of safe sex. 

 

“If [you find] the condoms had a holes, go and see a doctor,” the page advised. 

 

It emphasised that syphilis could be cured, but only if the infection was detected and treatment given in good time. 

 

In addition, it advised couples to undergo checks for sexually transmitted diseases before getting married or having a baby. 

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30369060

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2019-05-09

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A troll post with an untrue assertion has been removed.

Considering the almost total lack of sex education in the schools I am not surprised. Thai teachers have an almost complete inability to discuss sex, condoms, pregnancy or STD's. My wife's daughter was 16 and had received absolutely no sex education at all so I stepped in and did my best. If you dont teach why would you expect kids to know? 

Tertiary Syphilis can cause dementia. Could that explain poor judgement and abnormal behaviour in traffic?

1 hour ago, Lungstib said:

Considering the almost total lack of sex education in the schools I am not surprised. Thai teachers have an almost complete inability to discuss sex, condoms, pregnancy or STD's. My wife's daughter was 16 and had received absolutely no sex education at all so I stepped in and did my best. If you dont teach why would you expect kids to know? 

 

Probably could have worded your post better...just saying.

My grandma was WW2 hero, she got a victory medal. She spread syphilis among "ze" Germans. ????

In the United States syphilis is also increasing, especially among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM). https://www.cdc.gov/std/syphilis/stdfact-msm-syphilis.htm

2 hours ago, RotBenz8888 said:

Tertiary Syphilis can cause dementia. Could that explain poor judgement and abnormal behaviour in traffic?

so  could  alcohol  or  lack of  grey  matter  or selfishness....if  you  have  all  three ?

32 minutes ago, Bezdomny said:

My grandma was WW2 hero, she got a victory medal. She spread syphilis among "ze" Germans. ????

The dawn of biological warfare.

Is syphilis transmittable though oral sex or is protection with a condom in case of vaginal sex sufficient?

6 hours ago, webfact said:

Bangrak STIs centre, which is under the Disease Control Department, recently warned on its Facebook page that the number of syphilis cases had been rising at a worrying rate.

That could knock a serious dent in Thailands "family friendly beach resorts" if news of another sexually transmitted disease spreads around the world!

1st Yes

2nd No

 

Try Google !

 

Honestly, if Thailand is determined to trade in its long-established Western tourism for an evermore desperate combination of Chinese and Indian tourism, it has to accept that will bring certain other problems.

Western tourism was never problem-free, even before the army became sensitive to dangerous Western attitudes towards democracy and decided we were no longer necessary, but we had been pretty reliable customers for decades and had, in general, reasonably civil ideas and a healthy self-interest in using condoms rather than having our cocks rot off.

 

Edited May 9, 20197 yr by donnacha

6 hours ago, wolf81 said:

Is syphilis transmittable though oral sex or is protection with a condom in case of vaginal sex sufficient?

Any kind of contact with a mucous membrane or broken skin is enough - and that means oral sex too. But given the primary and secondary stage symptoms, a person with the oral version might be more likely to get medical attention and therefore it is less likely. So, for instance, in a study involving gay males in the USA who were infected with syphilis, only 20% got the infection from oral sex.

Does anyone know what happened to that chap who provided 'tension relief' for females using his tongue?

He would surely be a prime candidate for spreading this terrible illness. Stay away ladies!

 

 

now we know the reason why a couple weeks ago the government was tracking sex business....if this keeps growing it will generate a lack of income

4 hours ago, RotBenz8888 said:

Tertiary Syphilis can cause dementia. Could that explain poor judgement and abnormal behaviour in traffic?

and in government perhaps ?????

4 hours ago, RotBenz8888 said:

Tertiary Syphilis can cause dementia. Could that explain poor judgement and abnormal behaviour in traffic?

It certainly helps to explain the poor quality of government, police and civil servants...

 

Edit - sorry Geoff it seems we both finally understand the underlying problems this country faces!

Edited May 9, 20197 yr by ParadiseLost

15 minutes ago, Topdoc said:

Does anyone know what happened to that chap who provided 'tension relief' for females using his tongue?

He would surely be a prime candidate for spreading this terrible illness. Stay away ladies!

 

 

And if you can't stay away, make sure he puts a condom on his tongue and covers his lips in an anti-fungal gel. You should warn him there is no cure for syph of the tongue, only amputation.

The movie The Libertine is a good one to watch re' syph'

8 minutes ago, ParadiseLost said:

It certainly helps to explain the poor quality of government, police and civil servants...

 

Edit - sorry Geoff it seems we both finally understand the underlying problems this country faces!

And I would therefore add that it is highly unlikely that they will ever get the problems of this country licked,   and survive   ????  ( not for long anyway ) ????

A feature of the report is its conspicuous lack of any facts and figures to show the incidence of this very serious disease, which is making an unwelcome comeback in many parts of the world.

 

The new government needs to make tracking and treatment a priority, along with a public education campaign (including schools), with the focus on prevention.

 

The World Health Organisation warns: "Apart from being serious diseases in their own right, sexually transmitted infections increase the risk of contracting or transmitting HIV infection". 

 

 

 

5 hours ago, Lungstib said:

If you dont teach why would you expect kids to know? 

Pornhub. 

7 hours ago, Lungstib said:

Considering the almost total lack of sex education in the schools I am not surprised. Thai teachers have an almost complete inability to discuss sex, condoms, pregnancy or STD's. My wife's daughter was 16 and had received absolutely no sex education at all so I stepped in and did my best. If you dont teach why would you expect kids to know? 

My wife is a doctor and so are most of her friends. We regularly go to weddings of her friends which have been arranged in a hurry because the girl became pregnant unexpectedly as they have no clue techniques like pulling out early or counting your fertile window are very unreliable. 

 

Mind you: these people have gone to medical school for at least 6 years to become a doctor and are clueless about how this part of human reproduction works.

 

 

5 hours ago, Topdoc said:

In the United States syphilis is also increasing, especially among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM). https://www.cdc.gov/std/syphilis/stdfact-msm-syphilis.htm

Same in UK ,NZ and Australia

2 hours ago, Krataiboy said:

A feature of the report is its conspicuous lack of any facts and figures to show the incidence of this very serious disease, which is making an unwelcome comeback in many parts of the world.

 

The new government needs to make tracking and treatment a priority, along with a public education campaign (including schools), with the focus on prevention.

 

The World Health Organisation warns: "Apart from being serious diseases in their own right, sexually transmitted infections increase the risk of contracting or transmitting HIV infection". 

 

 

 

Many HIV + (positive) people who are undectable (well controlled on medications) are no longer using codoms because of they are much less likely to pass on HIV, but are contracting other STIs and increasing infection pool.

Public education campaigns need to funded and rolled out to all sexually active communities irrespective of s3xual orientation.

 

8 hours ago, Lungstib said:

My wife's daughter was 16 and had received absolutely no sex education at all so I stepped in and did my best.

Whadya mean??

6 hours ago, Bezdomny said:

My grandma was WW2 hero, she got a victory medal. She spread syphilis among "ze" Germans. ????

Actually the North Vietnamese used that one against the U.S. G.I s, I doubt it was your Grandma though.  

HIV Prep maybe culprit, people using Prep may forgo the condom, but expose themselves to all other STDs...

Thais are not aware very much about sexual disease and even not want to use condoms. Leck of teaching, sure at school, but this has to happen at home from the parents.  But they are mostly not aware of anything!