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🇦🇺 Australia /Health & Science

Australians are dying from a disease that was almost eliminated years ago

From ABC Australia · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Syphilis infection rates are rising in Australia, a Victorian-era sexually transmitted infection that was once nearly eliminated.
  • The disease, caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum, can infect the nervous system and cause severe damage to bones.
  • Australia's Chief Medical Officer declared it a national communicable disease incident of significance, with annual notifications nearly doubling in the last decade.

A resurgence of syphilis in Australia has health officials deeply concerned, as infection rates climb for a disease that was once on the brink of elimination. The Victorian-era sexually transmitted infection, caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum, is preventable and curable, yet its return poses a significant public health challenge.

Advanced syphilis causes body changes, growth of additional bone, especially the leg bones, and some destruction of other bones.

— Emeritus Professor Maciej HennebergDescribing the physical damage caused by advanced syphilis.

Emeritus Professor Maciej Henneberg, a bioarchaeologist at the University of Adelaide, is studying historical remains to understand the impact of syphilis on past populations. He notes that advanced syphilis can cause substantial damage to bones, including the skull, creating pits and lesions. Professor Henneberg's work with the Vernon-Roberts Museum in South Australia examines skeletal remains from the late 19th century, revealing the devastating effects of untreated syphilis before the advent of penicillin in the 1940s.

The skull we have here in our museum is of a person who suffered syphilis for a number of years because it got into its final stages.

— Emeritus Professor Maciej HennebergExamining a skull from the late 19th century that shows signs of syphilis.

The dangers of the current outbreak are so pronounced that Australia's Chief Medical Officer, Michael Kidd, declared it a "communicable disease incident of national significance" last year. Annual syphilis notifications across the country have nearly doubled in the past decade, escalating from 4,773 cases in 2015 to 8,993 in 2025. Furthermore, the Australian Centre for Disease Control (CDC) reported 130 cases of congenital syphilis over the last decade, highlighting the severe risks to newborns.

It worries us a lot.

— Emeritus Professor Maciej HennebergExpressing concern about the resurgence of syphilis in Australia.

Professor Henneberg expresses significant worry about the potential for syphilis to become endemic if not properly managed. "It's 100 percent important not to allow it to spread and to become endemic," he stated, emphasizing the critical need for containment and prevention efforts to curb the rising tide of this resurgent infection.

It's 100 per cent important not to allow it to spread and to become endemic.

— Emeritus Professor Maciej HennebergHighlighting the critical need to contain the spread of syphilis.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Australia. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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