According to him Report of the Bloom Observatory “STIs in women in Spain”in recent years there has been an increase in cases of other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) such as chlamydia, syphilis and gonorrhea.
Although this growth has affected the entire population, it is women who have experienced the greatest increase in diagnoses of sexually transmitted infections.
Thus, between 2016 and 2019, STI cases in women in Spain increased by 156%, according to estimates by the Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII) cited by SEMES.
If the cases provided by the surveillance systems of the autonomous communities are taken into account, the increase in cases between 2012 and 2019 stands at 1,073%, reaching its peak of infections with 16,304 cases per year.
According to coordinator of the Grupo Mujeres de SEMES, the doctora Iria Miguéns: “80% of the total cases diagnosed were in women between 15 and 35 years of age, since fewer infections are recorded after that age due to the stabilization of the number of sexual partners.”
“70% of women -he adds- considered that their knowledge about STIs is deficient”.
sexually transmitted infections in pregnant women
It is estimated that in Spain between 20 and 25% of those infected with HIV are women and that the virus can be transmitted from mother to child in 45% of cases, if the pregnant woman is not receiving treatment.
Other STIs like syphilis primary or secondary, the probability of contagion is 70% to 100%. In the early latent phase the figure is reduced to 40% and in the late to 8%.
“Syphilis in pregnancy is very easy to detect and treat, so it is not justifiable that today girls and boys continue to be born with congenital syphilis,” says the doctor.
According to the hepatitis Bmother-to-child transmission can cause chronic infections in newborns that over time can lead to cirrhosis or liver cancer.
“As with other infections, there are alternatives that can prevent mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B, so the use of rapid tests for the diagnosis of these STIs is recommended for both mothers and their partners to stop transmission,” says the doctor.
risky practices
One of the risk practices that increases sexual infections is “chemsex” which consists of the intentional use of drugs, mainly stimulant and dissociative drugs, to have sexual intercourse for a long period of time (which can last from several hours to several days).
When the use of some of these drugs is done intravenously, it is called “slamming”.
For him Dr. Guillermo Burillo, coordinator of the SEMES Toxicology GroupAlthough there is a wide variety of drugs used in the practice of “chemsex”, some are more frequent, such as gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHL/GBL), cocaine, mephedrone and methamphetamine, poppers (inhaled use of amyl nitrites, butyl or isobutyl), ketamine, and drugs used for erectile dysfunction.
“The combination of some of these drugs -he points out- produces disinhibition and sexual stimulation. In this context, it is common to practice unprotected sex with different sexual partners and increase the risk of contracting STIs, such as HIV.”
According to the expert, around 30% of HIV-positive patients practice “chemsex”, while “slamming” occurs in 16% of them.
“It is estimated that the practice of “chemsex” can triple the risk of HIV infection and even double the risk of STIs such as chlamydia and gonorrhea, and is related to 80% of HIV seroconversions,” he says.
With the practice of “chemsex” there has been an increase in the consumption of drugs known as NPS (novel psychoactive substances) accessible on the Internet and barely detectable in hospitals.
Substances that alone or in combination with other drugs have clinical consequences that are not yet well known but worrying from an organic point of view.
According to SEMES, many of the cases related to drug use are attended from the Emergency Services.
In Spain, a study carried out at the Hospital Clínic of Barcelona which included HIV-infected patients who attended the Emergency Department after consuming a drug of abuse, showed that the majority were men who have sex with men (55%) and that, within this group, the “chemsex” was present in 87.5% of the cases and polydrug use occurred in 33%.
The pathogens of sexual diseases
There are more than 30 bacteria, viruses or parasites that are transmitted through sexual contact.
The 8 main pathogens etiological agents of STIs are: Treponema pallidum (syphilis), Neisseria Gonorrhoeae or Gonococcus (gonorrhea), Chlamydia trachomatis, Trichomonas vaginalis (trichomoniasis), Hepatitis b virus, herpes simplex virus, HIV and the Human Papilloma Virus. .
These pathogens are spread predominantly sexually, including vaginal, oral, anal sex, or direct contact with skin or mucous membranes.
The coexistence of several infections
He Dr. Juan González del Castillo, coordinator of the SEMES Emergency Infections Groupexplains that HIV infection and the rest of STIs “are clearly interrelated, sharing risks, incidence and transmission mechanisms”.
Some STIs, especially ulcerative ones such as syphilis or genital herpes, increase the risk of contracting or transmitting HIV infection.
The SEMES program “Leave your mark”addresses this problem from hospital emergency services by performing selective screening of certain profiles of the population that consult for diseases with a high prevalence of HIV-
From January 1, 2020 to September 30, 2022, 116 emergency services have joined the project with more than 100,000 serologies and 757 new diagnoses.
How to prevent STIs
The increase in the number of couples, the implementation of new apps for sexual encounters, tourist areas and the increase in travel are the most prominent determining factors, especially in urban centers in our country.
“It is no longer only necessary to treat and diagnose STDs, but also to carry out prevention and awareness campaigns, especially in younger patients, prior to starting sexual relations. In addition to prevention strategies, commitment is needed to draw up state strategies that help in the transmission of STDs and HIV”, pointed out Dr. Iria Miguéns.
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