More than 3 in 4 South Korean syphilitic patients were men in 2024, according to data from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.
The disease control agency confirmed a total of 2,790 syphilis cases between January and December last year, with an incidence rate of 5.4 cases per 100,000 people.
According to data based on the agency’s quarantine information system, 2,177 men were diagnosed with the disease, accounting for 78 percent of the cases.
A total of 1,636 syphilitic patients were in their 20s and 30s, making up nearly 60 percent of the total. The incidence rate was highest among men in their 20s, at 14 cases per 100,000 people.
Syphilis was previously listed as class 4, the lowest infectious disease category, which includes the seasonal flu.
But it was elevated to category 3 in 2024, placing the infectious disease under the mandatory surveillance system. Diseases listed in the system require all medical institutions to report cases within 24 hours. Previously, this disease was tracked under the sentinel surveillance system, which depended on reports from only designated institutions.
The agency added that approximately 200 cases were reported, but the number increased to 274 in July 2024, making it the month with the highest number of cases recorded.
A total of 117 cases were identified as infections acquired abroad.
The KDCA stated that a continuous operation of its surveillance system and epidemiological investigations is necessary to create policies for the prevention and control of syphilis.
sj_lee@heraldcorp.com
