Global crisis from sexually transmitted diseases

Strong increase in sexually transmitted diseases

There is a massive increase in sexually transmitted diseases in many countries around the world. Researchers now warn that infection rates for syphilis, chlamydia and resistant gonorrhea have risen to record highs.

Scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found in their current research that the dramatic increase in sexually transmitted diseases is becoming a global crisis. The medical community published a report warning of a true global threat.

More and more new infections detected

In the US alone, millions of new infections have been registered in the past four years. Similar increases were observed in the UK and Australia, researchers say. Especially a drug-resistant strain of gonorrhea is on the rise worldwide. In England, cases of syphilis have reached their highest level since 1949. This represents an increase of nearly 150 percent in ten years.

Millions of people are infected

Last year, there were nearly 2.3 million Americans with chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis, compared with just 1.7 million in 2013, report the CDC staff. The published report states that chlamydia is most prevalent in women, while gonorrhea and syphilis are more common in males. Young people between the ages of 15 and 19 and adults between the ages of 20 and 29 are the highest-risk groups in the US, the researchers add. And surprisingly, gonorrhea and chlamydia rates were highest in the typically conservative Bible-faithful states of the South.

Gonorrhea from Southeast Asia is spreading in the UK

In the United Kingdom, public health officials warned about the spread of drug-resistant gonorrhea, which was believed to be introduced from Southeast Asia. The CDC explained that the symptoms are a burning sensation of urination and a green or yellow discharge. The occurrence of cephalosporin-resistant gonorrhea makes the successful treatment of the disease considerably more difficult, since only a few antibiotics are available that are sufficiently investigated, well tolerated and additionally highly effective.

Which people are particularly at risk?

According to a report from Public Health England earlier this year, there were a total of 422,000 new cases of sexual diseases in 2017. These were 7,137 diagnoses of syphilis alone. This represents an increase of 20 percent compared to 2016 and an increase of 148 percent compared to 2008. Cases of gonorrhea increased by 22 percent compared to 2016, while the number of chlamydia cases decreased by 8 percent. Most at risk of infection were young heterosexual people aged 15-24, black ethnic minorities and homosexual bisexual men. (As)