NT Health has created a syphilis incident management team to address the rising number of infections and the acting chief health officer Dr Paul Burgess has called on Territorians to get tested.

Dr Burgess said that syphilis cases had been rising since 2013 and over the past five years cases have doubled.

He told the NT News that people, especially sexually active 15 to 34-year-olds, should get tested in primary health care centres or Clinic 34 in Alice Springs, Darwin, Katherine, Nhulunbuy and Tennant Creek.

“Sometimes a large increase in case numbers is a good thing,” Dr Burgess said.

“That means we’re doing more testing, we’re finding these cases and we’re actually getting those cases treated.

“Very reassuringly, the majority of those cases are being treated very, very rapidly.

“Thereby we’re preventing the spread.”

Australian Medical Association president Dr John Zorbas said his organisation welcomed the management team, which was established in February.

“Untreated syphilis is a devastating disease. It is an easy disease to treat early on and very, very hard to treat as you get further down the line,” Dr Zorbas said.

“So the fact that an IMT has been struck is welcomed by the AMA.”

Dr Burgess said testing for the infections involved a blood test, and syphilis could be treated early on with an injection of penicillin.

“We’re very effective at finding and treating people once we know the test is positive,” Dr Burgess said.

“But the key step that we need the public to help us with is to come forward for a free and confidential test.”