The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) is sounding the alarm. In his last Annual Reportthe ECDC reports that in 2022, cases of chlamydia increased by 16%, to reach 216,508 cases, those of syphilis increased by 34% (35,391 cases) and those of gonorrhea jumped by 48%, with 70,881 cases in the European Union.
An “increase as staggering as it is worrying,” said Andrea Ammon, director of the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, who also stressed that it was probably underestimated. “These numbers, while significant, probably represent only the tip of the iceberg,” she said.
An increase in France also
An underestimate that the director of the ECDC attributes both to differences in screening practices but also in access to sexual health services in the 27 countries covered by the agency.
In France, according to Public Health France, diagnoses of chlamydia infection, gonorrhea and syphilis have been increasing in recent years. Regarding chlamydia, the incidence rate has been increasing since 2014 and is now higher among men (103 cases per 100,000 inhabitants) than among women (88 cases per 100,000 inhabitants), among whom it is stabilizing.
Syphilis up 27% compared to 2019
Concerning gonococcal infections, seen in general medicine consultations in mainland France, there were 29,300 cases in 2022, while the estimated incidence in 2021 was 21,750 cases, with men representing three-quarters of the cases detected.
Finally, syphilis also recorded an increase in France in 2022 according to Santé Publique France. The number of people aged 15 and over diagnosed with syphilis at least once a year in the private sector was estimated at around 6,000, an increase of 27% compared to 2019. The incidence rate reached 10 per 100,000 people aged 15 and over, increasing since 2020, and more markedly in 2022, particularly among men, the most affected by this STI. 26-49 year olds have the highest incidence rate.
ECDC calls for improved prevention
Faced with this “worrying increase” in STIs in Europe, the ECDC calls in a press release for “an urgent need to raise awareness of the transmission of STIs and a need to improve prevention, access to screening and effective treatments for meet this public health challenge.
Another avenue, “prioritize sex education, expand access to screening and treatment services and fight against the stigma associated with STIs”, insisted Andrea Ammon in the press release, before adding that it is necessary encourage the systematic use of condoms during sexual intercourse to reduce the transmission of these infections.
How to get tested?
As recalled service-public.fr, your general practitioner or gynecologist can advise you and prescribe an STI screening test. Depending on the infection, different types of examinations can allow screening and diagnosis: a clinical examination of the genitals, a local sample or cultures or a blood test.
Screening can be done in laboratories or in free information, screening and diagnosis centers (CEGIDD). The law provides for reimbursement of screening for STIs other than HIV without a prescription and their full coverage for those under 26 years of age.