Syphilis outbreak partly caused by 'significant restrictions' on access to testing during Covid The number of cases are exceeding those seen before the Covid-19 pandemic. By Jane Moore Sunday 18 Jul 2021, 8:30 AM 13 hours ago 34,200 Views 45 Comments Image: Shutterstock/Jarun Ontakrai A NATIONAL OUTBREAK of early infectious syphilis (EIS) has been declared in Ireland. The Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) confirmed this week that there is a “potentially large undiagnosed reservoir of syphilis infection in Ireland due in part to the impact of COVID-19″. A spokesperson for the HSE Sexual Health and Crisis Pregnancy Programme said that the pandemic led to “significant restrictions” in people’s access to testing in sexual health clinics.