As he told RBC, in 2020 there was a sharp decrease in the incidence of this disease. The epidemiological situation associated with COVID-19 led to the fact that year there was a decrease in the population's requests for medical care, as well as a decrease in the volume of specialized appointments and preventive screenings.
He also noted that in 2020, the number of foreign citizens arriving in Russia, which accounts for a significant part of the identified patients with syphilis, has greatly decreased.
"In 2021-2022, as the medical and economic consequences of COVID-19 are leveled, the number of migration flows to Russia has increased significantly, and the demand for medical care of the country's resident population has also increased," he said, explaining that these factors are responsible for the increase in syphilis detection rates.
Potekayev also stressed that in 2022 the incidence of syphilis among Russian citizens was lower than in 2019, that is, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
In February, the Ministry of Health of Belarus excluded COVID-19, syphilis and gonorrhea from the list of diseases dangerous to the population.