New Delhi, Nov 2 (IANS) India is close to eradicating syphilis, one of the most common sexually transmitted infections (STIs), the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) said Wednesday.
‘There has been a tremendous decline in syphilis cases from all across the country. The cases have come down to 0.8 percent and we could soon be close to elimination,’ NACO joint secretary Aradhana Johri said at the inauguration of the 12th Annual Congress of the International Union Against STIs here.
‘This has been possible through the regional centres, district level work for the high risk groups, colour-coded kits where even a non-professional worker at the STI clinic can provide treatment,’ Johri added.
Transmitted through sexual or even direct contact with the person with open sores or syphilis rash in the genital region, syphilis earlier accounted for around 10 percent of cases in high-risk groups such transgenders and sex workers.
