Syphilis case-finding in an Australian men's sauna club.
A survey of 623 volunteers from a popular sauna club for homosexual men in Melbourne was carried out over a 12-month period. Blood samples were taken for serological tests for syphilis from each subject; in 114 (18.3%) of these, the test results were positive. Thirty-four subjects with positive test results (5.4%) had no previous history of syphilis. Follow-up was possible in 22 of these (64.7%), which resulted in 17 new cases of syphilis being detected and treated (a case incidence of 2.7%). Blood testing at sauna clubs patronized by homosexuals is a productive and cost-effective way of detecting asymptomatic syphilis in individuals at high risk of infection.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D001315:Australia; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006266:Health Education; D006386:Hemagglutination Tests; D006716:Homosexuality; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D029002:Steam Bath; D013587:Syphilis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy; D014210:Treponema pallidum / Q000276:immunology