Efe Madrid
Madrid
Updated Wednesday, January 24, 2024-18:34
Infectious Concern among experts about the increase in cases of congenital syphilis
Health 37% of sexually transmitted infections occur in children under 18 years of age and 17% of cases have at least one coinfection
Infectious STI Explosion: Gonorrhea multiplied by six between 2011 and 2021 and continues to grow
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) continue to rise, especially in young adults: some, such as
gonorrhea and syphilis, have increased for more than 20 years
and their incidence has multiplied by 25 and 10, respectively, while Chlamydia has
skyrocketed 245% since 2016
.
This is revealed by the report "Epidemiological surveillance of Sexually Transmitted Infections in Spain 2022" prepared by the National Center for Epidemiology (CNE) and the Cyber of Infectious Diseases of the Carlos III Health Institute, which collects data on
the five STIs of mandatory declaration
in our country.
These are syphilis, congenital syphilis and gonococcal infection (gonorrhea), to which chlamydia (Chlamydia trachomatis) and lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV) were added in 2015.
They all
accumulate years of climbing
(some more than others, but it depends on the moment in which they began to be counted), only rotating in 2020, although this decline "can be attributed to a greater or lesser extent" to the covid-19 pandemic due to confinement and healthcare overload.
In all five there is a
predominance of men over women,
with a majority of cases in young adults, although with differences depending on the disease;
Chlamydia was the most diagnosed in those under 25, and LGV, the least.
Chlamydia increases 245% since 2016
Of Chlamydia trachomatis infection, 26,518 cases were confirmed in the 16 autonomies that monitor this STI (all except Galicia, Asturias and the Balearic Islands), bringing the
rate per 100,000 inhabitants to 62.38
, 245% higher than in 2016. , when it began to be counted.
The highest rates were observed in Catalonia (162.92), Navarra (111.34), the Basque Country (101) and Madrid (61.13), and the lowest in Aragon (1.29), Extremadura (4. 94) and Castilla La-Mancha (7.12).
Melilla did not notify any.
Unlike others in which there is a clear predominance of men, almost half (12,792, 48.2%) of
the chlamydia cases were detected in women
, and when they are younger than them (24 versus 30 years). .
The median age at diagnosis was 27.
The
majority occurred between 25-34 years of age
(36.4%) and 20-24 years of age (26.4%), which had rates of 315.68 and 203.85, respectively.
The percentage of cases between 15 and 19 years old was 10.9%.
Gonorrhea multiplies by almost 25 in two decades
In 2022, 23,333 cases of gonococcal infection were reported, which gave a rate of 49, when in 2001 it was only 2. That is,
2,350% more
.
Until 2001, this STI had seen a marked progressive decline since 1995, when the rate rose to 11.69;
However, from that date on, the incidence
began a continued increase that has not stopped
until today, except in 2020, when it fell four points compared to 2019 (21.25 compared to 26.95).
Since the year of covid and until 2022, the increase has been 30.4%.
By community, the incidence varies greatly: the highest was in Catalonia (121.88), which
doubles that of the next region, which is the Basque Country
(63.82), above Madrid (58.89) and the Balearic Islands (48. ,61).
On the opposite side are Melilla (4.83), Extremadura (6.94), Castilla La-Mancha (10.30) and Asturias (10.54).
Eight out of ten cases (18,564, 79.9%) were men, who presented a rate of 81.31 compared to 19.59 for women.
The highest appeared in
boys between 25 and 34 years old
(280.83).
Depending on age, the median was 30 years (25 in women and 31 in men).
The highest rates
occurred in the 20-24 year old group
(198.23) followed by the 25-34 year old group (167.6).
Ten times more syphilis than in 2001
The second most frequent STI was syphilis, with 8,141 in 2022, when the rate reached 17.1, the
highest since it began to be counted in 1995
and 10 times higher than that of 2001 and 2002, when the minimum was recorded. (1.77).
Since 2020, cases have increased 18%.
Canary Islands, with 33.47;
Madrid (25.93), Catalonia (24.75) and the Balearic Islands (24.67) were the communities with the most diagnoses, unlike Aragón (2.58), La Rioja (3.16) and Castilla La-Mancha ( 4.57).
Nine out of ten were men (7,151);
As with gonococcal infection,
the rates were higher in men
(31.32) than in women (3.73), and the most affected age group (with almost 60% of cases) was also that of 25-34 years, although the median age rose to 37 years.
For its part, two early cases of congenital syphilis were
confirmed in children
under 2 years of age, corresponding to a boy and a girl diagnosed in the first months of life.
Incidence rates during the period 2000-2022 ranged between 0 and 2.23 per 100,000 live births.
Only 14 cases of LGV in women
With data from 14 communities, 912 cases of LGV were reported and an incidence of 2.29.
Almost all (98.5%) were men
, with only 14 cases in women.
Regarding age, the median was 36 years, being higher in men (36) than in women (22).
The bulk of diagnoses appeared in the 25-44 age group, which reached a rate of 7.31.
Catalonia also
registered the highest number of LGVs
, followed by Madrid and Navarra.
Cantabria, Ceuta and Melilla did not declare any cases.