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What is syphilis?
‘Syphilis on the Move’ social media campaign
Resources
In the media
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What is syphilis?
Syphilis is on the move in Australia. An outbreak of syphilis in Western Australia was declared in 2014, the number of syphilis cases detected each year continuing to increase. Syphilis is a bacterial infection that is spread by having sex with someone who has the bacteria. It can be passed on through oral, vaginal, or anal sex, or having skin to skin contact with a syphilis sore.
Symptoms, testing and treatment
Syphilis often doesn’t show any symptoms, so the only way for someone to know they have it is to get a test. If syphilis is tested for and treated early, it can be cured. If someone has syphilis but doesn’t get treated, it can lead to tertiary syphilis. Tertiary syphilis can damage the heart, brain, spine, eyes, and bones, causing serious problems like heart disease, blindness, deafness, strokes, and more.
Syphilis in pregnancy
If someone gets syphilis before or during pregnancy, it can lead to miscarriage or stillbirth. It can also cause congenital syphilis, a serious illness where babies are born with syphilis acquired during pregnancy. It can cause many problems with the baby’s heart, brain, eyes, and bones. In WA, some babies born with congenital syphilis have died.
Prevention
Syphilis can be prevented by getting tested regularly (at least once a year) and using condoms during sexual activity. You can encourage people to get a test, or to have their antenatal appointments if they are pregnant. Getting tested isn’t something to feel shame about. In fact, most Australians will have a sexually transmitted infection at some point! The more people talk about it, the less shame and stigma there is about syphilis.
‘Syphilis on the Move’ social media campaign
In June 2022, SHQ launched the ‘Syphilis on the Move’ social media campaign to raise awareness of the syphilis outbreak in WA and decrease the shame and stigma of testing and talking about syphilis. SHQ posted syphilis plushies to 16 partnering organisations in 8 regions of WA, who photographed them in their local communities. A total of 19 towns across the state were represented in the campaign.
Social media posts
The slideshow below shows some examples of pictures that were used in social media posts as part of the campaign.
Tik Tok
@sexualhealthquarters #didyouknow about the syph!llis outbreak in WA? It often has no symtoms so if you’re having sex get tested- it’s easy to treat when found early! #sexualhealth #fyp #foryou ♬ original sound – Nene💚
@sexualhealthquarters Reply to @princessmaggott yep! There’s a syph!lis outbreak in WA. Anyone s3xually active should be getting regularly tested 🫶 #didyouknow #syphillis #foryou #sexualhealth ♬ As It Was – Harry Styles
Resources
SHQ has developed a range of syphilis resources that are available for free download.
Click here to view downloadable print resources
You can view all resources online, and download individually or all together in a zip file.
In the media
SHQ Syphilis Health Promotion & Education Officer Rachael Laing was interviewed on 05/05/22 by the Western Independent about the syphilis outbreak in Western Australia, after seeing SHQ’s Tik Tok videos about the outbreak.
The SHQ ‘Syphilis on the Move’ social media campaign was featured in the Pilbara News on 15/07/22.
More information
Young Deadly Free | Videos about the syphilis outbreak
Quick navigation
What is syphilis?
‘Syphilis on the Move’ social media campaign
Resources
In the media
More information