Increasing incidence of syphilis among men living with HIV in Croatia during the COVID-19 years 2020 and 2021

Abstract

We conducted a nationwide longitudinal observational study to estimate the incidence of syphilis in a cohort of male persons living with HIV (PLWH) in Croatia in the pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 years. Data were reviewed and extracted from the clinical database. We analyzed 1187 PLWH (> 18 years) in care in Croatia from 2018 to 2021 and used Poisson regression to calculate rates. We observed a 91.4% increase in incidence between 2019 and 2020; the overall rate was 6.0/100 person-years, and the annual rate ranged from 3.3/100 person-years in 2018 to 9.3/100 person-years in 2021. We found higher rates in men who have sex with men, PLWH with a baseline history of syphilis, PLWH with a more recent HIV diagnosis, and a lower rate in those who had clinical AIDS. The rate of syphilis serological testing was 3.5% lower in 2020 compared to 2019. Recurrent syphilis was more likely asymptomatic compared to the first episodes. In conclusion, during the COVID-19 epidemic years there was a huge increase in syphilis. Results highlight the need for enhanced and novel prevention interventions.