Spread of STDs alarms WHO

The World Health Organization expressed alarm last week at the lack of progress on curbing sexually transmitted diseases, while one of its experts warned of complacency as dating apps are spurring sexual activity.

The UN health agency said in a fresh report that every day globally there were more than one million new cases of treatable sexually transmitted diseases (STD) or infections (STI). The WHO found that there were more than 376 million new cases of chlamydia, gonorrhoea, trichomoniasis and syphilis registered around the world in 2016 — the latest year for which data is available.

That is basically the same number as the WHO reported in its previous study, based on data from 2012.

A WHO expert on sexually transmitted infections, Teodora Wi, separately told journalists there were concerns that condom use may be declining as people have lost their fear of contracting HIV in step with the emergence of available and effective antiviral treatments.

People are “more complacent about protection”, she said, adding this was dangerous at a time when “sex is becoming more accessible [through things like] dating apps”.

Peter Salama, the WHO’s executive director of Universal Health Coverage, said in a statement that “we’re seeing a concerning lack of progress in stopping the spread of sexually transmitted infections worldwide”.

He called it “a wake-up call” for authorities to ensure that everybody had access to services to prevent and treat STIs.

The WHO’s new report shows that in 2016, some 127 million people between the ages of 15 and 49 were infected with chlamydia globally, while 87 million contracted gonorrhoea and 6.3 million contracted syphilis. In addition, some 156 million were infected with trichomoniasis — a parasital disease commonly known as trich.