Prevalence of Syphilis at a Tertiary Care Setup of Northern India: a Hospital Based Study

Introduction: Prevalence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) shows regional variations. Though a rising trend of prevalence of viral STIs is observed, syphilis still continues to be a commonly diagnosed infection.

Aim: To find out the current status of syphilis at a tertiary care hospital.

Materials and Methods: A total 2,543 serum samples were received from out-patients department (OPD) during one year period from January 2011 to December 2011. All serum samples were subjected to Venereal Diseases Research Laboratory (VDRL) testing. Treponema Pallidum Hemagglutination Assay (TPHA) was performed on VDRL reactive samples.

Observations: Out of 2,543 serum samples screened for syphilis by the VDRL test, 472 (18.5%) samples were found reactive, out of these 78(3.06%) were TPHA positive. Among males the samples from patients of 0-20 years, 20-40 years and above 40 years were 54 (4.3%), 1028 (82.4%) and 165 (13.2%) respectively, whereas among females for the same age groups the distribution was 73 (5.6%), 1185 (91.4%) and 38 (2.9%) respectively. Dilution titres of VDRL reactive samples varies from 1:2(360), 1:4(102), 1:8(8), and 1:16(1) and 1:32(1). Among 472 VDRL reactive samples 78(16.5%) were TPHA positive.

Conclusion: Over a period of one year 18.5% serum samples were found VDRL reactive and 3.06% were TPHA positive. Prevalence of active syphilis in age group 20 to 40 was higher.