Gonorrhea and syphilis are sexually transmitted infections whose numbers are rapidly increasing in Spain.

EFE | Madrid – October 30, 2024

gonorrhea And syphilis are sexually transmitted infections (STIs) What were shot dead in Spainespecially between youth. There were 36,983 cases of chlamydia diagnosed last year, up 20.7% from two years earlier, 34,401 cases of gonorrhea, up 42.6%, and 10,879 cases of syphilis, up 24.1%.

Here are some data presented in the annual report. Epidemiological surveillance of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) it was just published by the Carlos III Institute of Health, which supports the increasing trend in the incidence of syphilis, congenital syphilis, gonococcal infection (gonorrhea), chlamydia (Chlamydia trachomatis) and lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV) over the past two decades.

In all of them there is a predominance of men over women.: 80% of gonorrhea cases occur in men, who also have 88% of syphilis, 98% of LGV and 53% of chlamydia cases.

There were differences in age depending on the disease, so Chlamydia was the most common infection among those under 25 years of age. and LGV, at least.

Gonorrhea, the STI causing the largest increase in incidence

Since 2001, when the incidence was 2.04, gonorrhea continued to rise until it reached 71.54 in 2023.when 34,401 cases were detected, which is 42.1% higher than in 2021.

Also here, the indicators are significantly higher for men (116.84 and 28.01, respectively) and by age, the most affected group was 20-24 years old (265.68), followed by the group 25-34 years old (242.94).

Actually, eight out of ten positive ones were men. The average age at diagnosis was 31 years, with slightly lower age (26 years versus 32).

Most infections in men occurred between the ages of 25 and 34 years (401.93 cases per 100,000), followed by the 20-24 year group (355.60 cases per 100,000). Their highest rates were observed at the ages of 20 to 24 years (170.20) and from 25 to 34 years (80.06).

With many differences depending on the community: Catalonia reached 165.3, followed by Madrid (94.08); Basque Country (78.37) and Andalusia (58.64). The lowest rates were recorded in Ceuta (1.20), Melilla (2.34), Aragon (9.24), Castile and Leon (12.59) and Extremadura (16.12).

Syphilis in older age

The year 2023 ended with 10,879 cases of syphilis, raising the rate to 22.62, representing a 24.1% change from 2021.

88.1% were men, for whom this indicator was 40.66 compared to 5.27 for women; Here, The mean age was 37 years, with no significant differences by gender. (of which 37, of which 34).

Six out of every ten patients with syphilis were aged 25 to 44 years, with the group with the highest incidence occurring between ages 25 and 34 years (64.97).

The Canary Islands (53.91), Balearic Islands (33.97), Madrid (32.52) and Catalonia (30.54) were the communities with the highest incidence rates, in contrast to La Rioja (2.17), Castile -La Mancha (3.36) and Aragon (6.11). .

They were also discovered seven cases of early congenital syphilis in children under two years of age (five boys and two girls), all diagnosed in the first months of life. Thus, the incidence rate of confirmed cases has decreased from 0.75 in 2000 to 2.23 per 100,000 live births.

Chlamydia affects women almost equally

For chlamydia, an STI that was later included (2015), there were 36,983 cases reported with an annual percentage change (APC) of 20.7% from 2016.

At the same time, the incidence rate was 78.9, with men having higher rates (85.97). than in women (72.09). By age, the highest rates are from 20 to 24 years (387.72) and from 25 to 34 years (258.34).

Just under half (46.6%) were women. The mean age at diagnosis was 28 years, although they were younger (24 vs. 31).

Most cases occurred between ages 25–34 (36.4%) and 20–24 years old (25.6%), and in the age group 15–19 years old – 9.9%.

By community, the highest rates were in Catalonia (194.56), Navarre (124.97), Basque Country (102.78) and Madrid (85.97); At the other extreme are Melilla (1.17), Aragon (5.52), Castile and Leon (13.26) and Castilla-La Mancha (13.82). Ceuta reported no cases.

LGV, almost exclusively for men

The 16 communities monitoring LGV reported 1,807 cases with an incidence rate of 4.32.

98.3% were men, average age 37 years.; The worst affected group was people aged 25 to 44 with a score of 26.08, ahead of the group aged 35 to 44 (20.93).

Catalonia was the community with the largest number of LGVs.It is followed by Madrid, Navarre and the Basque Country. On the other hand, Cantabria, Castile-La Mancha, Ceuta and Melilla did not report any cases. EFE
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