Sexually transmitted diseases are increasingly occurring in Bavaria. Bavaria’s Health Minister Judith Gerlach (CSU) said Augsburg General, the number of HIV diagnoses in the Free State rose by a good 20 percent to 608 in 2023. The number of registered syphilis cases climbed to 1,229 and, like HIV infections, reached the second highest value since statistics began in 2001.
According to the Robert Koch Institute, registered infections have not risen as sharply in any other federal state in recent years as in the Free State. Gerlach said her ministry had already reacted and was stepping up its educational work. “For example, we have expanded the HIV testing weeks in Bavaria.” Many people don’t even know that they are infected and could infect others. “I therefore appeal to you to consistently protect yourself and others from infection with a sexually transmitted disease.”
According to the Ministry of Health, it is not completely clear why the numbers are rising particularly sharply in Bavaria. A ministry spokesman cited “changes in sexual behavior and drug consumption or immigration from countries where HIV and syphilis are more common” as possible reasons. Increased travel behavior could also play a role. “It turns out that urban areas in particular have a higher incidence of syphilis and HIV cases, less so in rural areas,” said the spokesman.