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The male-to-female ratio of P&S syphilis, which had declined from about 3:1 in the early 1980s to approximately 1:1 in the mid 1990s, has once again risen to more than 3:1. This is because syphilis has been substantially curbed in heterosexual populations while it has been resurgent in men who have sex with men (MSM). The reasons for this are not entirely clear, but may involve more risk taking in this group, abandonment of safer sex practices (such as curbing numbers of partners and consistent use of latex condoms), and the rise of a younger cohort of MSM who have no experience with HIV/AIDS from the 1980s, when safer sex practices helped diminish new cases of syphilis and other STDs as a beneficial side effect of reducing HIV transmission.