Syphilis is still king of infections

The big three — syphilis, tuberculosis and gonorrhea — have remained the city’s top infectious diseases for five years now, news which is small cause for celebration.

Infectious diseases spread through blood and sex reign supreme, officials from Shanghai Center for Disease Control and Prevention informed a chastened public health forum over the weekend.

Scarlet fever took the place of viral hepatitis to become the No.4 leading infectious disease since 2014, with hepatitis sinking one place to No.5.

The city reported 13,500 cases of syphilis in 2017, with infection of those between 15 and 49 years old dropping to 2,700, down 35.1 percent from 2013. However, the situation for people aged 50 or over is not improving, with 7.1 percent more infections than in 2013. People aged 50 or older are now the highest risk group, Shanghai CDC said.

The leading causes of death were cardiovascular disease, cancer and respiratory ailments, the same as in previous year.

The prevalence of infectious disease has dropped and remains low thanks to improvements in public health care, prevention and control, and rising awareness, Shanghai CDC said.