Since the early 1940s, syphilis had been a reportable disease. However, for many years, doctors had stopped reporting cases of syphilis. Consequently, in July 2000, an amendment to the Public Health Code eliminated the requirement to report sexually transmitted diseases. Analysis of national data from venereal disease clinics (DAV) between 1985 and 1990 showed that the number of primary and secondary syphilis cases dropped until 1987 and remained roughly stable between 1987 and 1990. No data has been published since 1990, but activity reports from certain DAVs indicate that syphilis had become a very rare disease. In late November 2000, the diagnosis of several cases of early syphilis within a six-week period at the DAV of Tarnier Hospital (Paris) led to an epidemiological investigation to confirm the diagnosed cases and a possible resurgence of syphilis. (R.A.).