CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 99Mathematical and Theoretical Epidemiology and Ecology ModelsSyphilis Diagnosis and TreatmentHIV, TB, and STIs Epidemiology

Frequent testing of highly sexually active gay men is required to control syphilis.

Gray, Richard T., Hoare, Alexander, Prestage, Garrett P., Donovan, Basil, Kaldor, John M., Wilson, David P.·2010·Sexually Transmitted Diseases
DOI 10.1097/olq.0b013e3181ca3c0a
Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The incidence of syphilis infections has been substantially increasing in gay men in the developed world. METHODS: We developed an individual-based mathematical model describing syphilis transmission within a gay male population: we used the model to simulate the expected relative impact of numerous screening and treatment interventions, targeting different at-risk groups with various coverage and frequency rates and follow-up schedules. RESULTS: The model predicts that increasing the proportion of gay men tested each year would have a relatively modest impact on syphilis incidence. However, increasing the frequency of testing can have a large impact, with the prevalence of syphilis reduced substantially if individuals are tested every 3 months. Targeting frequent screening at gay men who have large numbers of partners or who engage in group sex is a more efficient way of reducing syphilis epidemics. Contact tracing the regular partners of infected individuals is the most efficient intervention and can have a significant epidemiological impact with relatively high coverage rates. CONCLUSIONS: Increasing the frequency of testing and treatment are required to mitigate syphilis epidemics. Notifying and testing partners of infected men should occur where possible but the high rates required to reverse epidemic trends are likely to be infeasible. Contact tracing should be a secondary priority that is coupled with increases in the frequency of testing in the population. Encouraging testing among men not previously tested for syphilis is also recommended.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1097/olq.0b013e3181ca3c0a

Cites

42 of 42 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

This paper’s full text isn’t openly available, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Models from Australia have demonstrated that increasing syphilis screening frequency from two times a year to four times a year resulted in a relative decrease of 84% from peak prevalence.

    “Models from Australia have demonstrated that increasing syphilis screening frequency from two times a year to four times a year resulted in a relative decrease of 84% from peak prevalence (224).”

    From Sexually Transmitted Infections Treatment Guidelines, 2021 (2021) · cites this paper as [224]

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Related

Authors
Gray, R. T., Hoare, A., Prestage, G. P., Donovan, B., Kaldor, J. M., & Wilson, D. P.
Affiliations
  • UNSW Sydney (AU)
  • Sydney Hospital (AU)
Corresponding author
  • Gray, Richard T.
  • Hoare, Alexander
  • Prestage, Garrett P.
  • Donovan, Basil
  • Kaldor, John M.
  • Wilson, David P.
ORCID
Venue
Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Publisher
Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)
Published
2010-05
Volume
37
Issue
5
Pages
298-305
ISSN
0148-5717 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1097/olq.0b013e3181ca3c0a
OpenAlex
W2038246485
Cited by
99
References
42
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 6 · 2015: 10 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 10 · 2012: 6
FWCI
8.29
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Sexually Transmitted Diseases (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Mathematical and Theoretical Epidemiology and Ecology Models
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Syphilis Diagnosis and Treatment
  • Social Sciences › General Social Sciences › HIV, TB, and STIs Epidemiology
Keywords
syphilis, gay men, syphilis transmission, mathematical model, contact tracing, partner notification, sexually transmitted infections, HIV prevention, men who have sex with men, group sex, sexual risk behavior
MeSH terms
Australia, Disease Outbreaks, Humans, Male, Mass Screening, Population Surveillance, Sexual Partners, Syphilis, Models, Statistical, Contact Tracing, Homosexuality, Male, Disease Transmission, Infectious, Unsafe Sex

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review