Source: ABC News – 11 July 2018
A disease that once sent kings mad is now killing babies in Queensland
A ‘medieval’ disease infamous for devastating kings has returned in epidemic proportions in Queensland, and killed six babies in as many years, despite there being a cheap and effective cure.
In the last six years, six babies have died in the state from syphilis — a sexually transmitted disease that was nearly eradicated in the early 2000s.
In 2008, two cases were diagnosed in Queensland, and in the decade since, more than 1,100 other cases have been recorded in the north of the state, with about 200 new presentations each year.
The numbers continue to grow, despite penicillin being a cheap and effective cure.