SINGAPORE: An employer whose maid tested positive for syphilis took to social media panicking about what to do.
In an anonymous post to a support group for helpers and employers alike, the woman wrote that her maid was really good but added that she had just tested positive for syphilis. “So scary my doctor mentioned she will not be allowed to be working anymore isit true ?” the woman asked, adding that she had infants at home. Syphilis is a chronic bacterial disease that is contracted chiefly by infection during sexual intercourse. But there is also congenital syphilis — a mother with syphilis can pass the infection on to her baby during pregnancy.
Syphilis is one of the most common types of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). According to medical experts, the risk of acquiring syphilis from a single sexual encounter with an infected partner is about 3% to 10%. In Singapore, particularly, an average of around 1500 cases of syphilis are reported every year.
Antibiotics can treat syphilis in the early stages. Syphilis doesn’t cause long-term health problems if you receive treatment early. Without treatment, syphilis can cause severe health problems. It can damage your heart, bones, brain, eyes, muscles and nerves, and it can be fatal.
The maid told her employer that she had already sought treatment while she was with her previous employer. She even had a letter dated 2021 stating that her medication and treatment were completed in 2017 from the DSC Clinic. The DSC Clinic is a specialist outpatient clinic for the diagnosis, treatment and control of Sexually Transmitted Infections in Singapore.
“My head is totally spinning. She was a transfer helper . What would you do if you were me?” the employer asked.
Here’s what netizens who commented on the post said:
In 2021, domestic helper Puii reached out to her cousin for help after her employers delayed taking her to a doctor for two days even though she was bitten by their dog.
Sinta, the cousin of 24-year-old Puii, wrote in a Facebook post on popular page Complaint Singapore about the entire ordeal asking others for help as she was unable to get in touch with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).
On May 22, Puii was badly bitten by her employer’s dog. According to graphic videos shared by Sinta, Puii’s hand was bleeding profusely. Sinta wrote that she was upset as the maid agency and Puii’s employer only agreed to take her to a doctor the following Monday (May 24), two days after the dog bite.
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