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RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Brazil has seen a rise in syphilis cases, including congenital syphilis, in the past few years, state news agency Agencia Brasil reported on Monday, quoting the latest Health Ministry report.
The Health Ministry report shows that the cases of acquired syphilis in adults rose 32.7 percent from 2014 to 2015. In pregnant women, syphilis cases rose 20.9 percent, and the cases of congenital syphilis, in which a pregnant woman passes the disease to her baby, rose 19 percent during the same period.
The ministry considers the rise in syphilis cases an epidemic. The report of all the three forms of syphilis -- the regular one, in pregnant women and in newborns -- is required, which helps the ministry track the advance of the disease.
Adele Benzaken, head of the ministry's Department for the Prevention and Control of AIDS, STDs and Viral Hepatitis, said that over the past five years, "syphilis was not at a level of eradication, but it was stable, and suddenly the number of cases increased."
Benzaken attributed the rise to a combination of factors, including a decrease in the use of condoms among younger Brazilians.
In order to tackle the rise in syphilis cases in Brazil, the ministry launched last month a campaign to raise awareness about the disease. Enditem
