Sexually Transmitted Infections Increasing in Western Europe
Originally published by Reuters Health, May 31, 2002
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) — From the late 1980s through the early 1990s, sexually transmitted infection (STI) rates fell in many western European countries. However, a new report indicates that since 1995 this trend has reversed, which has included a substantial increase in sexually transmitted HIV infections.
Dr. Angus Nicoll, from the Public Health Laboratory Service in London, and Dr. Francoise F. Hamers, from the Institut de Veille Sanitaire in Saint-Maurice, France, analysed data from annual reports and published literature to determine STI trends in western Europe from 1995 to 2000. The current findings are published in the June 1st issue of the British Medical Journal.
During the study period, the number of newly diagnosed sexually acquired HIV infections increased by 20%, the researchers state. The percentage of new HIV cases that were sexually acquired rose from 66% in 1995 to 74% in 2000.
Gonorrhoea rates have also increased in many countries. In the UK and Sweden, the number of new cases increased by 102% and 154%, respectively. Dramatic increases were also noted in France, the Netherlands, and Switzerland.
Data on syphilis cases are harder to obtain, but several countries, including the UK, Ireland, and Norway, reported outbreaks of the disease in 1999 and 2000 among men who have sex with men, the authors note.
"The data imply that complacency over HIV prevention efforts has set in among many individuals and some governments," the researchers state. "In addition to prevention measures, consistent surveillance therefore needs to be established across Europe to monitor trends in key STIs, resistance of Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and likely levels of risk of HIV transmission."
