(Taiwan English News/Zhu Mingzhu Comprehensive Foreign Report) According to the statistics of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the total number of reported cases of sexually transmitted diseases in 2021 will exceed 2.5 million, an increase of 7% within a year, and the rate of spread has not slowed down at all. signs of slowing down.
According to the data, of the more than 2.5 million cases, Chlamydia accounts for half of the cases, which will increase by about 4% in 2021, and gonorrhea will increase by nearly 5%.
It is worth noting that syphilis has surged by 32% within one year, and many of them are babies who are vertically infected by mother and child. In 2021, there will be as many as 220 cases of stillbirth or neonatal death due to congenital syphilis infection.
Dr. Leandro Mena, head of the CDC venereal disease prevention and control group, said that congenital syphilis can be prevented through syphilis screening in early and late pregnancy, but unfortunately, in the absence of prenatal education and timely treatment, the last opportunity to prevent congenital syphilis has been missed. good opportunity.
There are many reasons for the increase in the number of cases of sexually transmitted diseases, including the new crown pneumonia that has swept the world. The epidemic has exposed the predicament of the public health system around the world. When all medical resources are concentrated on the treatment and prevention of new crown pneumonia, basic medical services are ignored. Such as sexually transmitted disease screening and treatment.
According to a recent report, compared with 2017, during the outbreak in 2021, many women will not have access to good reproductive health care services, including routine screening and contraceptive education.
In addition, sexually transmitted diseases often face considerable stigma and discrimination, leading patients to refrain from early treatment. Mena said the actual number of infections could be much higher than the number of reported cases of sexually transmitted infections.
Everyone is at risk of contracting an STD, but according to the CDC in 2021, gay and bisexual men, young adults, blacks, and American Indians are more likely to be infected.
In order to prevent the continuous spread of sexually transmitted diseases and achieve the best results, we should formulate response measures according to local conditions. In addition, we should also ensure that those groups with poorer socioeconomic conditions have access to the same medical resources.
