More syphilis cases blamed on networking sites contact

PEOPLE using social networking sites to meet people for casual sex are to blame for a four-fold increase in syphilis, a director of public health in Britain said yesterday.

Professor Peter Kelly, who works for NHS Tees, said the biggest cause of spreading the serious disease was unprotected sex.

He said syphilis has risen among heterosexuals in his area in the last year, and is potentially dangerous for pregnant women as it could lead to miscarriage, still-birth or disability.