Easily curable STD proving fatal in China

The syphilis epidemic has begun to take its toll in China, with the number of new infections increasing by 30 percent each year. In May alone, the mainland reported more than 32,000 syphilis cases, including two deaths, making the sexually transmitted disease one of the top five infections in the country, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said.

The disease, which is actually easy to cure, was virtually eradicated in China in the 1960s, but remerged in the 1980s to record a tenfold increase in the number of cases over the past decade.

The deputy director of China's National Center for Sexually Transmitted Diseases Control, attributed the increase to the economic boom in the country. A rapidly growing economy has resulted in large-scale migration and prostitution, even though the trade is illegal in China, he said.

According to latest figures, some 6 million women are involved in the flesh trade in China, said Hao Yang, deputy director of the MOH's disease prevention and control department.

In recent weeks, police in Beijing and Nanjing have raided local entertainment venues, mostly nightclubs and massage parlors, in a bid to crack down on prostitution, reports said.

Many believe the crack down on prostitution can help curb the epidemic, which spreads mainly by sexual intercourse.

June 13 2010