Shadia Brigitte, from Bahía Blanca, uploaded a video sharing something that many people find hard to say out loud: she had been diagnosed with primary-stage syphilis. She did not do it to seek pity. She did it because, as she herself explained, almost no one really knows what this infection is, what it looks like, or what it feels like in the body.
The response was not what she expected. Alongside messages of support, the insults also came: they called her “promiscuous”, mocked her, judged her as if being sick were a moral failing. No one asked how it is actually transmitted or why more and more young people are suffering from it.
Because the numbers do not lie: Argentina recorded about 55,000 cases of syphilis in 2025, 71% more than in previous years, and three out of four patients are under 40 years old.
The bacterium Treponema pallidum is transmitted through sexual contact or through a sore that often neither hurts nor is noticeable. It can be cured if detected in time. “Do not be ashamed, health comes first” she emphasized.