The growing trend of sexually transmitted diseases that began in the early 2000s continues. In 2023, Spain registered the highest rate since there were records of syphilis, gonococcal infection (gonorrhea) and Chlamydia Trachomatis, according to the latest report prepared by the National Epidemiological Surveillance Network (RENAVE), dependent on the Ministry of Health.
In the case of gonococcal infection, infected people have gone from 1,069 in 2003 to 34,401 in 2023. The rate per 100,000 inhabitants has grown, in that same period, from 2.70 to 71.54. It is the most pronounced growth among all STIs, with a special incidence in Catalonia (165.4), Madrid (94.08), Euskadi (78.37) and Andalusia (58.64). The lowest rates were in Aragón (9.24). In just two years, between 2021 and 2023, cases have increased by 42.6%.
Syphilis, monitored since 1995, has also registered a very significant increase in the last 20 years, with an evolution from 917 cases to 10,879. The lowest rates were seen in 2000 and 2001, barely reaching 2 infections per 100,000 inhabitants; now they are 22.62. The increase in the last two years is also pronounced: there are 24.1% more reported cases. The autonomous communities that registered the highest rates in 2023 were the Canary Islands (53.91), the Balearic Islands (33.97), Madrid (32.52) and Catalonia (30.54), while among those that registered the lowest incidence are La Rioja ( 2.17), Castilla La Mancha (3.36) and Aragón (6.11). The comparison between communities, the report itself warns, “can be affected by differences in regional surveillance systems.”
In both infections, the impact is greater in men than in women and the average age is in the thirties: 31 years in gonococcal infection and 37 in syphilis, according to RENAVE data. A study published in 2022 by the Bloom Observatory warned that although the data were “alarming”, it was necessary to take into account that there had been a change in surveillance. That is, more cases are diagnosed than before “were in the shadows, undetected.”
Free condoms pending
Cases of Chlamydia Trachomatis (chlamydia) infection are also rising. Its surveillance is more recent, since 2016, and since then an increase in diagnoses of 20.7% has been reported. In 2023, 36,983 cases were reported, which represents a rate of 78.90 per 100,000 inhabitants, the highest on record. In this case, the high rate of infections among women under 25 years of age is relevant.
The Ministry of Health recalls that STIs “are an important public health problem both due to their magnitude and their complications and consequences if early diagnosis and treatment are not carried out” and links the growth in Spain with an observable trend “at a global level.” ”. The team led by Mónica García announced a year ago a new measure to alleviate this growth that has not yet been implemented: distributing condoms for free to young people. Although there are still issues to be outlined, the idea is that they can be removed from pharmacies with a marked periodicity.
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