Australians are dying from a disease that was almost eliminated years ago
Forty-two babies in Australia died from congenital syphilis between 2011 and 2025, with the outbreak driving health workers into communities to raise awareness of the old-world disease.
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Australians are dying from syphilis, a disease that was almost eliminated more than a decade agoLBy Laetitia LemkeStatelineTopic:Disease OutbreakMon 15 Jun 2026 at 7:52amMon 15 Jun 2026 at 7:52amMon 15 Jun 2026 at 7:52amabc.net.au/news/syphilis-outbreak-spreads-across-australia-sti-testing-treatment/106214402Link copiedShareShare article Neurosyphilis infects the nervous system through the same bacterium that causes the STI syphilis.(ABC News: Che Chorley)This is the damage late-stage syphilis can do to bones.The Victorian-era sexually transmitted infection is preventable and curable, so why are infection rates rising in Australia?Turning over old bones, Emeritus Professor Maciej Henneberg is trying to get to the bottom of an old disease that has resurfaced in Australia.Like a cold case…
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