Ottawa sets up testing booths at bathhouses amid gay syphilis epidemic
English: This photograph shows a close-up view of keratotic lesions on the palms of this patient’s hands due to a secondary syphilitic infection. Syphilis is a complex sexually transmitted disease (STD) caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum. It has often been called "the great imitator" because so many of the signs and symptoms are indistinguishable from those of other diseases. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Ottawa Public Health is warning that syphilis is dramatically on the rise in active homosexual males, stating last month that it has seen a 76 percent increase from the number of cases reported last year and that over 90 percent of new cases are among active homosexual men . The city’s public health department is so concerned about the outbreak that it has set up testing booths at local bathhouses where homosexual men gather. “ Syphilis is highly infectious,” said Patrick O’Byrne, a registered nurse and Sexual Health Centre spokesperson for the public heal