Syphilis diagnostic rate - WMCA

All infectious syphilis (primary, secondary and early latent) diagnoses among people accessing sexual health services* in England who are also residents in England, expressed as a rate per 100,000 population. Data is presented by area of patient residence and includes those residents in England and those with an unknown residence (data for those residents outside of England is not included).*Sexual health services providing STI related care (Levels 2 and 3). Further details on the levels of sexual healthcare provision are provided in the  https://www.bashh.org/about-bashh/publications/standards-for-the-management-of-stis/ .RationaleSyphilis is an important public health issue in men who have sex with men (MSM) among whom incidence has increased over the past decade.Definition of numeratorThe number of infectious syphilis (primary, secondary and early latent) diagnoses among people accessing sexual health services in England who are also residents in England.Episode Activity codes (SNOMED or Sexual Health and HIV Activity Property Types (SHHAPT)) relating to diagnosis of infectious syphilis (primary, secondary and early latent) were used. The clinical criteria used to diagnose the conditions are given at  https://www.bashh.org/guidelines .Data was de-duplicated to ensure that a patient received a diagnostic code only once for each episode. Patients cannot be tracked between clinics and therefore de-duplication relies on patient consultations at a single service.Definition of denominatorThe denominators for 2012 to 2022 are sourced from Office for National Statistics (ONS) population estimates based on the 2021 Census.Population estimates for 2023 were not available at the time of publication – therefore rates for 2023 are calculated using estimates from 2022 as a proxy.Further details on the ONS census are available from the https://www.ons.gov.uk/census .CaveatsEvery effort is made to ensure accuracy and completeness of GUMCAD data, including web-based reporting with integrated checks on data quality. However, responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of data lies with the reporting service.Data is updated on an annual basis due to clinic or laboratory resubmissions and improvements to data cleaning. Data may differ from previous publications.Figures reported in 2020 and 2021 are notably lower than previous years due to the disruption to SHSs during the national response to the COVID-19 pandemic.