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Research Letter
Is COVID-19 affecting the epidemiology of STIs? The experience of syphilis in Rome
  1. Latini Alessandra1,
  2. Magri Francesca2,
  3. Donà Maria Gabriella1,
  4. Giuliani Massimo1,
  5. Cristaudo Antonio1,
  6. Zaccarelli Mauro3
  1. 1 STI/HIV Unit, San Gallicano Dermatological Institute IRCCS, Roma, Italy
  2. 2 Department of Dermatology, Sapienza University of Rome, Roma, Italy
  3. 3 Clinical Department, National Institute for Infectious Diseases, Lazzaro Spallanzani, IRCCS, Roma, Italy
  1. Correspondence to Dr Latini Alessandra, STI/HIV Unit, San Gallicano Dermatological Institute IRCCS, 00144 Roma, Italy; alessandra.latini{at}ifo.gov.it

https://doi.org/10.1136/sextrans-2020-054543

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    Dear Editor,

    In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, on 9 March 2020, the Italian government announced a nationwide lockdown programme of social distancing, self-isolation for contacts and prohibition of public events. People with other medical needs were still able to attend hospital outpatient appointments provided they carried printed self-certification to explain the reason for the journey to an inspection by the police.

    Throughout the lockdown period, the STI/HIV Unit of the San Gallicano Dermatological Institute, the largest STI/HIV clinic in Rome, has remained open for emergencies, including STI testing for people with symptoms and for asymptomatic people at risk. Virtual consultations have also been activated.

    From the start of lockdown, we observed a reduction in STI diagnoses, particularly of early syphilis. In the whole of March 2020, we …

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    Footnotes

    • Handling editor Anna Maria Geretti

    • Twitter @giumas3

    • Contributors AL designed the work, collected the data, wrote the manuscript and revised it. MGD analysed the data and wrote the article. MG collected the data and revised the work. FM collected the data and wrote the article. MZ reviewed the letter. AC approved the final version of the manuscript.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Patient consent for publication Not required.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.