Seroprevalence of syphilis in apparently healthy Irula tribals of Tamil Nadu

Emerging epidemic of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome/human immunodeficiency virus infection (AIDS/HIV) in India has made sexually transmitted disease (STD) control as one of the strategies imperative and probably the most important one to decrease HIV transmission in a community. Base line information on the prevalence of classical STDs in India, particularly in tribal population is inadequate. Among various STDs prevalence pattern of syphilis in the community is pivotal and has been conventionally assessed by routine serological method in both symptomatic and asymptomatic populations. Though syphilis continues to be a major health problem in India, studies on seroprevalence of syphilis in an apparently healthy tribal population are limited. Hence we screened the Irula community of Gummidipundi area of Tamil Nadu to study seroprevalence of syphilis in this community.