Syphilis is making a comeback because of promiscuity among middle-aged men who ignore safe sex guidance, warn experts. Cases of the sexually transmitted infection have shot up more than tenfold in the past decade.
It was thought the disease - which can cause madness, paralysis and even death in its final stages - had been largely wiped out with the advent of penicillin.
But while their great-grandparents were well aware of the dangers of syphilis, adults today are seemingly ignorant about it and aiding its spread, with hotspots in London and the North West.
The latest official figures show men in their late 30s and early 40s account for a third of cases of the initially symptomless disease, which can later cover sufferers in weeping sores.
Experts say many who contract it are likely to be divorcees returning to the dating scene, with the view that safe sex messages are only for teenagers.
Sexual health clinics say the rise in syphilis in the UK can also be traced back to increased contact with former Eastern Bloc countries such as Russia and Poland, where the disease has remained endemic.
Overall UK diagnoses of syphilis shot up by more than 1,000 per cent from 223 cases in 1999 to 2,524 cases in 2008.
The greatest number was seen in men, with 2,248 cases, compared with 276 in women.
Cases among heterosexual men rose from 113 in 1999 to 858 last year, while cases among gay men rose from 53 to 1,390 over the same period.
