More cases than in ten years! Dangerous trend – sexually transmitted diseases are spreading in Europe

The number of cases of bacterial sexually transmitted diseases has increased sharply in Europe. This was announced by the EU health authority ECDC, based in Solna, Sweden. Accordingly, reported cases of gonorrhea and syphilis reached the highest level in more than a decade in 2024.

According to the ECDC, 106,331 cases of the bacterial infectious disease gonorrhea, also known as gonorrhea, were registered in 2024, which corresponds to an increase of 303 percent since 2015. The number of syphilis cases more than doubled to 45,577 in the same period. According to the EU authority, chlamydia remained the most frequently reported sexually transmitted infection with 213,443 cases.

ECDC's Bruno Ciancio said that if left untreated, these diseases could cause serious complications, such as chronic pain and infertility, and, in the case of syphilis, cardiovascular or nervous system problems. It is particularly worrying that syphilis transmitted from mother to child almost doubled between 2023 and 2024.

It is quite easy to protect your own sexual health, said Ciancio: “Use condoms with new or multiple sexual partners and get tested if symptoms such as pain, discharge or sores occur.”

According to ECDC, men who have sex with men are by far the group most affected by infections – especially when it comes to gonorrhea and syphilis. Syphilis is also becoming increasingly common among heterosexuals, especially among women of childbearing age. The result is a nearly double increase in cases of mother-to-child transmitted syphilis – from 78 cases in 2023 to 140 cases in 2024 in the 14 countries that reported data.

Sources used: als/dpa