Denmark has been getting a lot of claps recently, and no it’s not applause. The nation’s boom in syphilis cases is still continuing its upward trajectory.
The number of people infected with syphilis in Denmark in 2015 increased by 47 percent compared to 2014, from 530 to 777, according to a new report from the State Serum Institute (SSI).
The sexually-transmitted disease has become particularly prevalent in the nation’s homosexual male community, and the results showed that the vast majority of those infected were men (91 percent).
The median age of the men infected was 41 years old – the youngest was 17 and the oldest was 80. Meanwhile, the average age for women was 32 – the youngest also being 17 and the oldest being 62.
READ MORE: Jump in syphilis cases for second year in a row
Took off after 2000
Since the turn of the century, SSI has registered a significant increase of syphilis cases.
In 2000, there were barely any cases of syphilis in Denmark, and it remained under 100 until about 2007 when the disease really took off.
Between 2013 and 2014 there was a 51 percent spike quite similar to that experienced last year.
