In ten years, the number of sexually transmitted diseases has increased by 50%

The figures collected by the regional administration on its open data portal justify the increasingly widespread concern of health authorities about the increase in these infectious episodes, which, on the other hand, it should be remembered that they are curable. Over ten years, the number of identified cases in the province has increased from 38 in 2012 to 57 in 2022, an average of three new patients per month.

The same statistics list the most noticeable sexually transmitted pathologies; But first it is necessary to clarify that more than twenty microorganisms have been identified, including viruses, bacteria and parasites that can cause sexually transmitted infections. The list of the Ministry of Health does not list everything that is with specific names; however, each fiscal year includes a chapter on “other sexually transmitted diseases,” and this chapter varies most widely from year to year.

According to the department, syphilis is the most diagnosed sexually transmitted infection in the region. Fifteen cases have been reported in 2022, three more than in the year before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, which triggered dual health and economic crises. Coronavirus, by the way, has completely changed the statistics of cases of notifiable diseases. In 2020, when this occurred, Segovia had 8,313 cases. If we compare it ten years ago, the number of syphilis cases would have increased fivefold.

Diagnoses of “Chlamydia trachomatis”, that is, chlamydia, also appear in the statistics of the Ministry of Health. According to this information, the number of cases has increased fivefold, from two confirmed patients in 2012 to eleven in 2022. The development pattern shows its peaks and valleys; But the 21 episodes reported in 2019 stand out when it comes to this sexually transmitted infection.

There has also been an increase in reports of gonococcal infections, better known as gonorrhea. In particular, they have doubled over the past ten years. From six in 2012, their number has increased to fourteen.

The last year, which appears in the statistics of the Junta of Castile and León, reduces the number of sexually transmitted diseases included in the section “Other STDs”. Ten were watched and listened to, which, although consistent with the volume reported ten years ago, is significantly lower than the number of notifications recorded on other courses in this time range, as, for example, in 2019, shortly before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, 74 cases were recorded in provinces of Segovian; and in 2020, at the height of the Covid health crisis, 31 infections were included in this diverse list of unidentified infection types.

The concerns of those responsible for health care and the management of health care services justify the launch of a government campaign presented a few days ago by the Minister of Health, Monica García.

Last year, researchers Asuncion Díaz Franco and Victoria Hernando Sebastian from the Carlos II Health Institute signed a study published by The Conversation in which they warned of a rise in sexually transmitted infections and analyzed the reasons behind them. behind.

One of them is extracted from the health service itself and from patients who present to the health center with symptoms and, after appropriate tests, are diagnosed with one of these infections. This observation leads the institution to conclude that “adolescents and young adults are a group particularly vulnerable to STIs.” Sexual diseases are affecting an increasingly younger population. This confidence leads to others of a more social nature, namely “early onset of sexual activity, the fact of having multiple partners and sexual relations under the influence of alcohol and drugs.” These practices and uses, which are more common, pose risks to the young people who engage in them.

Experts warn about this growing threat and that inadequate handling of new technologies contributes to expanding the range of possible contacts, and therefore the range of potential sexual partners. Sexual promiscuity does not exactly contribute to prevention.

Less condom use

Social media and the use of mobile phones at a younger age also open the door wide to access to pornography and distorted views of sexual relationships. This “could have a significant impact on their relationships and lifestyles,” researchers in the study warned of an increase in transmissible infections. Added to this is another dangerous practice that promotes infection, namely “unconscious use of condoms.”

Or rather, its non-use. Young people wear it less. Not only does this preventative measure serve as a method of contraception to avoid unwanted pregnancy, but the use of condoms also minimizes the chance of contracting and contracting one of these notifiable diseases.

It is completely contradictory that there is such an upward trend and that cases of increasingly younger patients are being seen in areas of epidemiology where education on sexuality is more abundant and clear than in previous generations.

Health care concerns are heightened when treating relapsed patients who have repeatedly acquired infections. This means that treatments that were previously effective are no longer effective and the infection lasts longer.

For new infections caused by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and AIDS, the fluctuations are not as large as for other sexually transmitted infections. Detections at the end of each year vary little. Health services suffered seven casualties in 2022, one fewer than just before the coronavirus pandemic, the same as in 2020, and four fewer than in a retrospective comparison ten years ago.

When it comes to notifiable diseases, there is a lot more space than when it comes to sexually transmitted diseases. The list of health care when generalizing the incidence of these pathologies by territory consists of 68 conditions. The most common and numerous, by far the rest, is influenza.

Thus, in 2022, the province of Segovia recorded 1,777 cases out of a total of 1,960 mandatory reporting cases. These may seem like very high numbers, but if you compare them with the effects recorded in previous courses, you can conclude that they are not so impressive.