Reported cases of early syphilis in Sri Lanka have risen steeply over the past six years, and men account for the large majority of them, according to data from the National STD/AIDS Control Programme.
The programme recorded 508 early syphilis cases among men in 2025, compared with 175 among women, the Daily Mirror reported. That leaves the figure for men at nearly three times the figure for women.
The scale of the increase
In 2019, the same data set recorded 89 cases among men and 31 among women.
On those numbers, reported cases among men rose by 471 per cent between 2019 and 2025. Cases among women rose by 465 per cent over the same period — a near-identical rate of increase, on a much smaller base.
Early syphilis refers to infections detected within roughly the first year, the stage at which the disease is most transmissible and most readily treated.
The figures describe cases reported to the national programme rather than total infections in the population. Reported counts can move for reasons other than a change in transmission, including wider testing and improved case detection, and the programme has not attributed the rise to any single cause.
Sri Lanka’s STD/AIDS control programme runs a network of clinics that provide free testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections.
Sources: Daily Mirror.
