Syphilis
Health alert
Status: Active
Last updated: 28 October 2024
Issued by: Chief Health Officer
Issued to: Health professionals
Syphilis is a sexually transmissible infection (STI) usually caused by having vaginal, oral or anal sex with a person who is infected.
Both men and women can be infected. It can also be passed on during pregnancy from mother to child.
Current situation
A Northern Territory (NT) syphilis outbreak was declared in 2013. Some of the major concerns of the syphilis outbreak is the long-term impact of syphilis infection and the risk of congenital syphilis to unborn babies. Congenital syphilis occurs when an unborn baby acquires the syphilis infection before birth.
Young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the 15 to 24 year age group experience the greatest burden of infection in the NT. See the Northern Territory Sexual Health and Blood Borne Viruses Unit Surveillance Update for current notification data.
Alerts to health professionals
Notifiable disease
Syphilis is a notifiable disease.
Sexual health information for professionals
Follow your clinical guidelines relevant to your setting such as the below resources.
| Type | Resource | Author |
|---|---|---|
| Document | NT Guidelines for the Management of Sexually Transmitted Infections in the Primary Health Care setting. Provides a reference to assist with sexual health service delivery by primary health care clinicians. | NT Health |
| Document | Congenital Syphilis Guidelines for the Northern Territory. For assessment and management of syphilis in pregnancy and the neonatal period. | NT Health |
| Document | Syphilis audio fact sheets in language. The resource is an audible fact sheet for patients about syphilis. It is available in several different Aboriginal languages across the NT. It is intended to be used by health professionals to access and play during a consult. | NT Health |
| Website | Contact the syphilis register by calling Darwin 08 8922 7818, Alice Springs 08 8951 7552 or email syphilis_register.ths@nt.gov.au. | Centre for Disease Control |
| Document | National syphilis monitoring reports. This collection contains monitoring and surveillance reports for cases of syphilis in Australia. | Department of Health and Aged Care |
| Website | The Remote Primary Health Care manuals | Remote Primary Health Care Manuals |
| Website | The Australasian Society for HIV, Viral Hepatitis and Sexual Health Medicine (ASHM).
| ASHM |
Information for the public
| Type | Resource | Author |
|---|---|---|
| Webpage | Syphilis | Heath direct |
| Webpage | Syphilis translated information | Stay STI free |
| Webpage | Young deadly free resources and activities designed with Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations to increase testing and treatment of STIs in young people in remote and very remote Aboriginal communities. | Young deadly free |
| Webpage | True or Gammon campaign. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander resources on sexually transmissible infections | Department of Health and Aged Care |
| Webpage | Interactive syphilis story Women & Men | Terrence Guyula, AHP |
| Resource | Healthy pregnancy, healthy baby PDF (3.1 MB). A pregnancy book for Aboriginal women of the Northern Territory | NT Health |
Get a sexual health check-up
| Organisation | Locations | Website |
|---|---|---|
| Clinic 34 | Darwin region, Katherine, Nhulunbuy, Tennant Creek and Alice Springs | Northern Territory Government |
| Remote health services | Remote communities | Northern Territory Government |
| Family Planning NT | Darwin region | Family planning NT |
| GP | Various locations | Health direct |
| Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services | Remote and urban locations | AMSANT |
Find out where to get free condoms in the Northern Territory on the Northern Territory Government website.
Contact
Contact the Public Health Unit’s Centre for Disease Control.
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