NEED TO KNOW
Experts warn syphilis is spreading rapidly in Australia, with Indigenous communities disproportionately affected at higher rates
The disease is preventable and treatable, but lack of testing and awareness contributes to its continued spread
Health officials stress the importance of public programs and penicillin treatment to control the outbreak and save lives
Experts are sounding the alarm about a rise in syphilis in Australia, which has so far caused the death of 42 babies and infected thousands of others.
“It worries us a lot. It’s 100 percent important not to allow it to spread and to become endemic,” University of Adelaide Emeritus Professor Maciej Henneberg told ABC News Australia in an interview published on Sunday, June 14. The disease was declared a “Communicable Disease Incident of National Significance” in 2025 by the country’s Chief Medical Officer Professor Michael Kidd AO, as thousands have been infected by the disease.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are disproportionately affected, sickened at a seven times higher rate than non-Indigenous Australians, the announcement said. The deaths of 42 babies were reported after contracting the disease between 2015 and 2025; 60% of those babies were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, per ABC News Australia.
3D illustration of syphilis
Credit: Getty
“It is entirely preventable, so even if a pregnant person got syphilis, we can totally treat that pregnant person, and then the baby will not be at risk any longer,” Dr. Kelly Hosking, director of sexual health and blood-borne viruses strategy and policy for NT Health, told the outlet, calling the outbreak a “health disaster and a tragedy.”
Syphilis is a bacterial infection that is usually spread through sexual contact, according to the Mayo Clinic, and often presents as painless sores that spread the disease. Because the sores don’t hurt, they often go undetected. At its early stage, syphilis can be cured with a single dose of penicillin. But as Mayo Clinic noted, “without treatment, syphilis can damage the heart, brain or other organs. It can become life-threatening.” And congenital syphilis — when the disease is passed from mother to baby — has a high likelihood of miscarriage, stillbirth, or death shortly after birth.
Research shows that if testing rates reach between 70% and 80%, the outbreak can be controlled, but Henneberg stressed that, “public programs are necessary,” along with “informing the public that the cure for syphilis is penicillin.”
He noted that one can have syphilis and not know it until “five to 30 years later,” ABC News Australia reported.
Stock image of a doctor preparing a syringe of medication
Credit: Getty
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“So you could just have it there, just running amok, and that can affect all organs, so it can affect the brain and cause strokes, it can affect the heart and [cause] heart attacks,” she said.
“Don’t be ashamed. Go and get tested,” healthcare provider Teresa De Santis, who works with Aboriginal people, told the outlet. “It’s an easy fix and it could save you a lot of trouble down the line.”
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