Gonorrhea, syphilis and chlamydia affect mainly the very young
Sexually transmitted diseases more at home in the Middle Ages have skyrocketed in Portugal, as well as in other countries of Europe.
Gonorrhea, syphilis and chlamydia are affecting mainly the very young – aged 20 to 24 – says the latest annual epidemiological reports from the ECDC, European Center for Disease Prevention and Control.
In Portugal, for example, the notification of gonorrhea cases increased from 1,252 in 2021 to 2,253 in 2022.
In 28 countries of the European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA) there were 70,881 confirmed cases of gonorrhea in 2022, with a crude notification rate of 17.9 cases per 100,000 inhabitants – a 48% increase in the rate compared to 2021 and 59% compared to 2018.
“The year 2022 marks the highest number of gonorrhea cases in the EU/EEA in the last decade and since the start of European STI (sexually transmitted infection) surveillance in 2009,” warns ECDC.
In reports released today, the majority (25 out of 28) countries recorded increases in gonorrhea notification in 2022 – but countries with increases of more than 50% were Portugal, Spain, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Norway and Poland.
Chlamydia case notifications also rose in Portugal, from 914 cases in 2021 to 1,501 cases in 2022, while in 27 EU/EEA countries 216,508 confirmed cases of chlamydia infection were notified in 2022, with a crude notification rate of 88 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, 16% more than the 2021 rate.
What is causing this increase?
In the case of gonorrhea, the ECDC explains that men who have sex with men (MSM) accounted for more than half the reported cases. And there is another factor at play – antimicrobial resistance (AMR): The European Gonococcal Antimicrobial Surveillance Programme (Euro-GASP) reports increasing resistance to two particular antibiotics, azithromycin and ciprofloxacin, emphasising the need for vigilant monitoring and robust response strategies.
The report on chlamydia reveals a similar picture with increases from 2012 to 2019, a decline in 2020 likely due to the impact of the pandemic followed by an increase again in 2021. Rates continue to be highest among young adult heterosexual women. Gender disparities in chlamydia testing – with young women receiving the most testing – means chlamydia may be underdiagnosed among men.
Syphilis meantime seems to be one of the diseases from past centuries that is most affecting men who have sex with men. This group constitutes 77% of cases, and in 2021, around a third of these men with syphilis were HIV positive. Women, in the same year, “exhibited consistently low rates of syphilis infections”.
Source material: LUSA/ ECDC
