Syphilis infection spread! “Stork” conveys the fact that “infection is not someone else’s problem” (Yu Suzunoki, FRaU Editorial Department)

“Syphilis” is spreading to the extent that it can no longer be treated as someone else’s problem

The spread of syphilis continues unabated.
The National Institute of Infectious Diseases announced on November 10 that the number of children with congenital syphilis, which is transmitted from mother to child from pregnant women infected with syphilis, has reached an all-time high. As of October 2, 32 cases of congenital syphilis have been reported in 2023. “Congenital syphilis” refers to mother-to-child transmission of syphilis from a pregnant woman infected with syphilis to her fetus.

Some people may feel that 32 people is a small number, but that is not the case. This is the number of reports showing mother-to-child transmission, and when you add in non-pregnant people and men, the number becomes surprising.

Concerns about the spread of syphilis have been raised since around 2015, but in 2018, the cumulative number of cases reported for the year exceeded 6,000, and the National Institute of Infectious Diseases and the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare are taking active measures to prevent the spread of syphilis. started warning. According to a report by the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (as of November 12),The number of people infected with syphilis is 12,965.This means that it will double in a few years.。

In a separate article, we asked Dr. Kanako Inaba, an obstetrician and gynecologist, to explain the status of syphilis infection, the symptoms caused by the infection, and the most important thing to avoid: congenital syphilis, which is transmitted from mother to child during pregnancy. This is the manga “Kounodori” by Yu Suzunoki. In 2018, when concerns about the spread of infection began to be expressed, he published an episode about syphilis in a series of articles in Morning.

(C) Yu Suzunoki/Kodansha “Kounodori”