Since 2017, health authorities have seen STI cases increase among young adults. However, during the various confinements, screenings fell sharply, which only facilitated the transmission of these infections. How to deal with this upsurge?
All those who experienced the peak of the HIV epidemic in France are now informed and educated about safe sex and STI prevention. However, for Generation Z, the knowledge around these sexually transmitted infections remains quite vague. For example, many people forget to protect themselves during oral sex.
In France, there are eight very common STIs. Four of them are bacterial or parasitic infections: syphilis, gonorrhea (also called “hot-piss”), chlamydia and trichomoniasis. If detected in time, they can be cured through antibiotic treatment. The other four are viral infections: hepatitis B, genital herpes, HIV and human papillomavirus (HPV). These are difficult or even impossible to cure, but are not necessarily fatal. With regard to HIV, for example, the treatment today enables people to have the same life expectancy as a person who is not living with the virus.
The confinements caused a drastic drop in screenings
Still, since confinement, the number of screenings has dropped considerably while the rate of chlamydia infection, for example, has skyrocketed. According to the Public Health France site, the number of diagnoses of chlamydia infection increased by 29% between 2017 and 2019. This increase is more marked in men aged 15 to 29 (+ 45%), whether they are heterosexual or homosexual.
Additionally, in 2020, testing for bacterial STIs dropped 30% from the previous year. In the same vein, Public Health France also warns of an upsurge in syphilis and gonococcus, the increases in positive cases of which amount respectively to 22% for one and 58% for the other compared to 2017.
How to stem this phenomenon?
To counter this phenomenon, extensive prevention work is being carried out by associations and health personnel in colleges, high schools and faculties. Also, cultural productions such as the podcast “Qui m’a filé la chlamydia” directed by Anouk Perry help to open the dialogue on this infection which is circulating more and more among young people. Because it must be kept in mind that if STIs bacteria, such as chlamydia, are not taken in time, they can cause pelvic inflammation, genital lesions until they are at the root of infertility.
The circulation of STIs is therefore a public health issue as taboo and ignorance weigh on them. If we have all heard of someone who “had caught chlamydia”, we must not forget that no one is immune to it and that even a partner who seems honest to us isn’t until he shows us his test results.