Gonorrhea, syphilis and chlamydia, the most common sexually transmitted infections, have been on the rise in recent years. An increase that is being recorded throughout the national territory and from which Castilla y León is not immune. Concretely, in the autonomous community These three pathologies have almost tripled over the last five years with 880 cases, However, due to its “demographic characteristics”, with an older population than other parts of the country, it does not have the volume of cases that have been recorded elsewhere. For example, Gonorrhea cases almost tripled in 2023, to 300, compared to the 107 recorded in 2018.
These figures are far from the more than 13,000 registered in Catalonia or the 6,500 registered in the Community of Madrid, according to the latest epidemiological surveillance report of sexually transmitted infections from the Carlos III Health Institute. In the case of syphilis, those affected were 264 last year and five years ago there were half that number (128), a figure that places it at an intermediate rate of 11.08. In the case of Chlamydia, out of the 78 cases reported in 2018, the number increased to 316, with a rate of 13.26 percent.
It is, in general, increases which occur mainly in the population between 15 and 35 years oldunderlines the document, and this has also been perceived by the Junta de Castilla y León, from where they recall that these are diseases that it is obligatory to communicate to the Health Administration, due to their transmission and it is necessary to carry out contact control with the possibility of infection.
The head of the Epidemiology Department of the General Directorate of Health, Carmen Pacheco, assures that this increase is linked to the fact that there is a “low perception of risk” than before “it was higher” or because certain practices have become widespread and lead to a greater risk of transmission of these infections. But also because among young people, “who represent 95 percent of detected cases”, the condom, “which is the prophylactic measure par excellence”, has “declined a little”, explains Pacheco. A method which is perhaps the most classic, but which is “one of the most effective”, he explains. “Often, they take the contraceptive pill to avoid pregnancy, but they forget that there can be sexually transmitted infections,” he warns.
This “increasing trend” worries the regional government, he assures. In fact, he explains that it was articulated as an “individualized measure” within the Health Plan. “Information and prevention” are two of the keys to stopping the increase in the number of people affected in recent times, he explains, before explaining that the “training” of primary care doctors on the diagnosis of these pathologies are also intensifying. In these cases, he says, it is “very important” to go to a medical center when there are “symptoms.” “There are young people who do not dare to expose it to their family doctor out of embarrassment and, perhaps for this reason, many cases are also seen in emergency rooms.” Once detected, they are notifiable diseases and monitoring of possible contacts is also “fundamental”. “But there are also sometimes problems because there are people who do not want to give more information so as not to expose others,” he says.
For Lara Herrero, Dialogasex, an association responsible for emotional and sexual education in Castilla y Leónthe increase in infections “does not only concern the youngest”. What they detected is that the “perception of risk” of contracting this type of pathology is now “lower” than it could have been in the 90s of the last century because of HIV. The group also detected that certain “myths” about condom use are widespread. “For example, that it’s tight, that it doesn’t feel the same…”, ideas which, according to him, must be banished in search of this contraceptive method as being “one more element” in relationships. “They are more concerned about the fear of pregnancy,” explains Lara Herrero, but they also tend to ask, if they suspect they have a sexually transmitted infection, “what tests they should have done, where to go and What is the procedure? .” window period, that is, how long it takes until the disease gives a positive test. The main problem, he believes, is that There is no “real sex education” and there is “misinformation”. “As a society we all have a responsibility to promote healthy sexual education, beyond that focused on risks or dangers”, thus requiring a “change of approach in which progress is already being made”, concludes -he.
