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Review
. 2021 Aug;18(4):280-288.
doi: 10.1007/s11904-021-00564-z. Epub 2021 Jun 6.

The Intersection of HIV and Syphilis: Update on the Key Considerations in Testing and Management

Melody Ren  1 , Thomas Dashwood  1 , Sharon Walmsley  2   3
Affiliations
Review

The Intersection of HIV and Syphilis: Update on the Key Considerations in Testing and Management

Melody Ren et al. Curr HIV/AIDS Rep. 2021 Aug.

Abstract

Purpose of review: To highlight recent trends in the epidemiology of HIV and syphilis, the impact of the COVID epidemic, our approach to care of co-infected patients, and our views on important next steps in advancing the field.

Recent findings: HIV and syphilis co-infection has been on the rise in recent years although since the COVID pandemic there is a decrease in new diagnoses-it remains unclear if this represents a true decline or inadequate testing or under-reporting. Standard HIV care should include regular syphilis serology .Treatment and serological follow-up of syphilis in HIV positive and negative patients can be conducted similarly. Challenges remain in the diagnosis and management of neurosyphilis. New models for testing and prevention will be crucial next steps in controlling co-infection. The intersection of HIV and syphilis infections continues to pose new and unique challenges in diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.

Keywords: HIV and syphilis; Serology; Syphilis testing; Syphilis treatment.

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Conflict of interest statement

Melody Ren and Thomas Dashwood declare that they have no conflict of interest. Sharon Walmsley reports grants, personal fees, non-financial support, and other from Merck; grants, personal fees, non-financial support, and other from Gilead Sciences; grants, personal fees, non-financial support, and other from ViiV Healthcare; grants, personal fees, non-financial support, and other from GSK; and grants and personal fees from Janssen, outside the submitted work.

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