Objective To estimate the incidence of congenital syphilis in the UK. Design Prospective study. Setting and population United Kingdom. Methods Children born between February 2010 and January 2015 with a suspected diagnosis of congenital syphilis were reported through an active surveillance system. Main outcome measures Number of congenital syphilis cases and incidence. Results For all years, reported incidence was below the WHO threshold for elimination (<0.5/1000 live births). Seventeen cases (12 male, five female) were identified. About 50% of infants (8/17) were born preterm (<37 weeks' gestation): median birthweight 2000 g (865–3170 g). Clinical presentation varied from asymptomatic to acute disease, including severe anaemia, hepatosplenomegaly, rhinitis, thrombocytopaenia, skeletal damage, and neurosyphilis. One infant was deaf and blind. Median maternal age was 20 years (17–31) at delivery. Where maternal stage of infection was recorded, 6/10 had primary, 3/10 secondary and 1/10 early latent syphilis. Most mothers were white (13/16). Country of birth was recorded for 12 mothers: UK (n = 6), Eastern Europe (n = 3), Middle East (n = 1), and South East Asia (n = 2). The social circumstances of mothers varied and included drug use and sex work. Some experienced difficulty accessing health care. Conclusion The incidence of congenital syphilis is controlled and monitored by healthcare services and related surveillance systems, and is now below the WHO elimination threshold. However, reducing the public health impact of this preventable disease in the UK is highly dependent on the successful implementation of WHO elimination standards across Europe. Tweetable abstract Congenital syphilis incidence in the UK is at a very low level and well below the WHO elimination threshold.

Imiquimod cream at a dosing regimen of three times per week, is effective and has an acceptable safety profile in the treatment of prepuce associated warts and other external anogenital warts in uncircumcised males.

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Gonococcal eye infection in adults is an

A retrospective study of 55 HIV-1 seropositive African patients living in the UK, seen between January 1986 and November 1993, showed a total of 26 (47%) patients with AIDS. Thirty-one (56%) had symptomatic HIV disease at the time of presentation of whom 19 (34.5%) had an AIDS defining condition. Tuberculosis was the most common AIDS defining illness, accounting for 27% of all initial AIDS diagnoses, followed by by Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia and oesophageal candidiasis in 19% each and chronic mucocutaneous genital herpes in 15%. The mean CD4 count at the time of the first AIDS defining event was 91 x 10/mm3 (range 4-320 x 10/mm3). The profile of AIDS defining illnesses was different to published data of homosexual men and injecting drug users in the UK. This has practical implications when considering differential diagnoses and screening as well as prophylaxis for opportunistic infections in this group of patients.