Syphilis, gonorrhea or even chlamydia, sexually transmitted infections have increased by 30% in 2020 and 2021. Health professionals are warning of a potential explosion of cases this summer.
If summer rhymes with multiplication of meetings and therefore of sexual partners, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) also multiply during this period. STIs are the scourge of this summer 2022, especially among the youngest.
Misinformed young people
While international health specialists warned at the start of the year about the resurgence of STIs, in France sexually transmitted infections increased by 30% in 2020 and 2021. A meteoric rise among the youngest which is due, according to the doctor César Ancelle-Hansen, to a lack of prudence and information. “For years we talked about HIV and its risks, so today people have let their guard down about other STIs.”
If young people are not informed about these diseases and their modes of transmission, they do not know either that they can be protected from them with a condom. During the confinements, the messages of prevention against Covid-19 were numerous, and eclipsing the information to protect against STIs.
A drop in screening
Santé Publique France warned in December 2021 of the considerable drop in the use of screening. According to César Ancelle-Hansen, “the Covid has occupied a major part of the media space and certain subjects such as mental health for example, have disappeared. That of screening for sexually transmitted diseases has also taken a back seat.”
The drop in the use of screening implies an additional risk for this summer: infected people can transmit a disease to their partner without knowing it. In most cases, sick people show no visible symptoms, hence the importance of regular screening.
Sexual health, a subject still taboo
According to a survey carried out by Livi, a teleconsultation service, 24% of women questioned believe that STIs represent the greatest taboo in terms of health. A percentage that rises to 29% among women aged 18 to 34. Sexual health is one of the “prohibited subjects in the family circle” according to César Ancelle-Hansen. A taboo which may be the cause of the lack of information and which therefore reduces the number of diagnoses.