WHO reports sharp increase in sexually transmitted infections

The World Health Organization (WHO) has expressed concern about the sharp increase in the number of sexually transmitted infections in the world.

At a press briefing held in Geneva, director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that according to the new WHO report, in 2022, the number of syphilis infections increased by 1 million to 8 million people, and 230 thousand of them died.

The new data show that the number of sexually transmitted diseases is increasing in most regions, Ghebreyesus said, adding that in 2022, the number of new cases of syphilis among people aged 15-49 increased by about one million to 8 million, and 230 thousand deaths were recorded. The highest growth of this disease was recorded in America and Africa.

As per this report, the cases of polyresistant gonorrhea have also increased. As of 2023, nine countries have reported increasing levels of drug resistance to the disease. The WHO concluded that HIV and viral hepatitis continue to cause serious problems for public health, claiming 2.5 million lives every year.

In 2022, about 1.2 million new cases of hepatitis B and about 1 million new cases of hepatitis C were registered. According to experts, the number of deaths from viral hepatitis has increased from 1.1 million in 2019 to 1.3 million in 2022. The number of new HIV cases has decreased, but not much; from 1.5 million in 2020 to 1.3 million in 2022. Mortality related to HIV remains high; in 2022, 630,000 deaths were registered, 13% of which are children under 15 years old.

Follow NEWS.am Medicine on Facebook and Twitter