Now that we will be able to fully satisfy our skin hunger this summer, Sensoa calls on us to be properly tested for STDs.
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Chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis. Sciensano has seen an increase in the incidence (the number of cases per 100,000 inhabitants) for these three STDs in recent years. The most commonly diagnosed venereal disease is chlamydia: there the number of cases rose from 82.2 in 100,000 to 94 between 2017 and 2019. A small side note: Sciensano does not have complete figures because only a part of the general practitioners and labs report the diagnoses.
The increase is largely due to better testing and screening, but Sensoa is launching a new campaign to highlight the importance of preventive testing. “We notice that especially boys and men are less tested,” says spokesman Boris Cruyssaert. “There is certainly still margin.”
– One of Sensoa’s campaign images. Photo: rr
With chlamydia it often happens that there are no symptoms, but you can pass on the disease. “If not treated, it can cause infertility in women,” says Cruyssaert. “Anyone who has had unsafe sex or who decides to have sex without a condom in a new relationship over time should therefore be tested. Especially now that it is being announced everywhere that we will have a summer of love and there may be more sexual contacts again.”
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