Epidemiology of syphilis in Lin'an city, Zhejiang province, 2001 - 2009

Objective To understand the epidemiological characteristics and epidemic trend of syphilis in Linan, Zhejiang province. Methods The statistical analysis was conducted on the date of syphilis epidemic in Linan from 2001 to 2009 by using Excel 2003. Results The average annual incidence of syphilis was 31.74/lakh in Linan from 2001 to 2009. The incidence in 2009 was 9.65 times than that in 2001, the incidence increased obviously by years. The overall incidence in urban area was 2.12 times than that in rural area during this period (2=206.27, P＜0.005). The incidence in females was higher than that in males with the male to female ratio of the cases of 1 ∶ 1.44, (2=8.11, P＜0.005). The people aged 20 to 49 years were mostly affected, accounting for 76.15% of the total. Farmers and workers were the main affected populations, accounting for 70.63%. The early syphilis and latent syphilis cases accounted for 98.74%. Conclusion Because of more serious syphilis epidemic in Linan, it is urgent and necessary to strengthen the health education and surveillance as well as to take comprehensive measures to control the syphilis epidemic effectively.