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Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
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Mayo Clinic Housecall
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Risk factors
By Mayo Clinic staffYou face an increased risk of acquiring syphilis if you:
- Engage in high-risk sexual activity, including unprotected sex, sex with multiple partners, having sex with a new partner, or having sex under the influence of drugs or alcohol
- Are a man who has sex with men
- Are infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
The more sexual partners you have, the more likely you are to get syphilis or another sexually transmitted disease (STD). Even if you've had syphilis and been treated for it previously, you can get it again.
References
- 2006 syphilis surveillance report. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/std/Syphilis2006/default.htm. Accessed Oct. 21, 2008.
- Syphilis: Questions and answers. American Social Health Association. http://www.ashastd.org/learn/learn_syphilis.cfm. Accessed Oct. 21, 2008.
- Syphilis. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/topics/syphilis. Accessed Oct. 21, 2008.
- Syphilis & MSM (men who have sex with men). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/STD/syphilis/STDFact-MSM&Syphilis.htm. Accessed Oct. 21, 2008.
- Syphilis. National Women's Health Information Center. http://www.womenshealth.gov/faq/syphilis.cfm. Accessed Oct. 21, 2008.
- French P. Syphilis. British Medical Journal. 2007;334:143.
- Syphilis. Planned Parenthood. May 19, 2008. http://www.plannedparenthood.org/health-topics/stds-hiv-safer-sex/syphilis-4281.htm.
- Meyers D, et al. USPSTF recommendations for STI screening. American Family Physician. 2008;77(6):819.
- Chakraborty R, et al. Syphilis is on the increase: The implications for child health. Archives of Diseases in Children. 2008:93(2):105.
- Syphilis. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. December 2007. http://www.cdc.gov/std/syphilis/STDFact-Syphilis.htm. Accessed Oct. 21, 2008.
- Syphilis. Lab Tests Online. http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/syphilis/multiprint.html. Accessed Oct. 21, 2008.
- Syphilis. In: Sexually transmitted diseases treatment guidelines, 2006. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 2006;55(RR-11):22. http://www.cdc.gov/STD/treatment/. Accessed Oct. 21, 2008.
- Congenital syphilis. In: Sexually transmitted diseases treatment guidelines, 2006. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 2006. 55(RR-11):30-33. http://www.cdc.gov/STD/treatment/. Accessed Oct. 21, 2008.
