Clinicodemographic profile of syphilis with rising trends at a tertiary care hospital: The tip of the iceberg

Syphilis, a genito-ulcerative disease caused by the organism Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum, is renowned for its invasiveness and immune - evasiveness if untreated.Historical reports from the 15(th) century indicate that syphilis was perceived as a dangerous infection, and a source of public alarm via fear of contagion and dread of its manifestations. It has varied and subtle features that makes clinical diagnosis difficult and leads to many infections being unrecognised. The total number of reported cases of syphilis (all stages) increased 13.3% during 2017-2018. WHO estimates that each year 11 million new cases of syphilis occur globally among adults of 15-49 years of age. In our retrospective study, we analysed trends of syphilis in different groups of patients attending our tertiary care centre and reviewed the increase in disease pattern with varied clinical presentations. It is important for the medical practioners to be vigilant to look out for usual as well as unusual presentation of the great imitator.