STDs are back – syphilis, gonorrhea, and more

Proven content

We were only supposed to see these venereal diseases in the pages of history books. Meanwhile, syphilis is more common today than AIDS. In Poland, the number of infections increased by 25 percent over the last year. It is taking epidemic proportions in Germany. Who is responsible for the renaissance of forgotten syphilis and why is it increasingly difficult to treat it?

The return of venereal diseases

Alarming news is coming from Germany about the spread of venereal diseases on a scale unprecedented for years. Doctors see the sources of the spread of syphilis in dating websites and drugs popular in pubs, on which they let go of all the brakes. The problem became so serious that in April the German Ministry of Health adopted a program to combat venereal diseases.

Recently, the «Deutsche Welle» released a government report. It turns out that in 2009-2014, the number of syphilis infections in Germany increased to 5,7 thousand. cases, i.e. twice as compared to previous data. In 2014, 2,3 thous. new infections with hepatitis B viruses and 5800 infections with hepatitis C viruses, also transmitted through sexual contact. On the other hand, the estimated number of new HIV infections in Germany has remained relatively constant since 2006. At the end of 2014, our western neighbor had approx. 84 thousand. people were HIV positive.

Check it out: The seven most common venereal diseases

Far away from home

Measles is not a barrier for venereal diseases. We have cause for concern. The increase in the incidence was recorded in a country where women, according to a recent study, are faithful to their partners. – Contrary to Polish women – says Andrzej, who worked in a meat factory in Ruda in western Germany. In the few moments of his free time, if he was sober, he would go to a disco in a “Polish” club. – It’s never a problem to bring a girlfriend. This is how emigration affects people, especially at the beginning of their stay. Sometimes a person is no longer looking for sex, but for closeness. In order not to catch something… After a few months, you just know which people to avoid.

Last year, the data of 37 million customers of Ashley Medison, an online dating website, was revealed by hackers. On their basis, computer scientists from Spain created a map of betrayals. There were many Poles and Polish women.

Polish disease, or syphilis

In some media, the disease in Germany is evidence of the licentiousness of Western society. An argument as old as the syphilis epidemic. Centuries ago, the blame for venereal disease was also blamed on the neighbors. And so syphilis was a Spanish, French disease, and for the inhabitants of the Moscow state – a Polish disease. Most likely, syphilis, also known as syphilis, came from overseas with the discoverers of the New World.

The most famous epidemic that influenced the fate of Europe was the “Black Death”, but syphilis had no less impact. The chroniclers were only ashamed to write about it. There were even theories that the Reformation and Puritanism, that is, more conservative behavior, would not have been so successful were it not for the terrible plague. With XNUMXth century treatment options, syphilis turned into a terrifying disease. It caused deformities of the face, noses fell off or even eyes fell out. The so-called kilaki – bumps that burst.

The disease is caused by a bacterium – pale spirochete. Unfortunately, it is quite a tricky bacterium, because it can be infected not only during sexual intercourse (also oral or anal), but even during a kiss. Syphilis is curable. Antibiotic treatment is enough, as long as the nervous system or the heart has not already been attacked. One of the famous people suspected of descending from this world due to syphilis was Vladimir Lenin. The hemorrhages he suffered from were supposed to be the aftermath of the disease. Of the Polish rulers, he probably did not avoid it Aleksander Jagiellończyk. Sometimes the disease is accused of exterminating the Jagiellonians.

Modern measures allow for quick diagnosis, and in order to detect the disease, a serological test for VDRL is enough.

See also:

1. What is the USR test, or the test for syphilis?
2. A review of research on sexually transmitted diseases

Bacteria, too, are a troublemaker, a troublesome treatment for STDs

Last year’s data from the National Institute of Public Health – National Institute of Hygiene shows that in Poland, compared to 2014, nearly 25 percent the number of people diagnosed with syphilis increased by a fifth – those suffering from gonorrhea. The number of people who have been diagnosed with chlamydia-induced diseases has also increased. Almost five years ago, Dr. Gwenda Hughens from Health Protection Agnecy warned that gonorrhea would become a difficult condition to cure in the coming years.

“We have observed a growing resistance of gonorrhea to the antibiotics currently used,” she told the Daily Mail.

In 2011, in Great Britain infected with gonorrhea, different I will try, there were over 400 thousand. people. It was no accident that 2011 was significant, as the number of infections increased by 25% during the year. At the same time, specialists argued that the scale of the disease is much higher, because not all infected report to doctors. Unfortunately, venereal diseases still belong to the so-called embarrassing.

The underlying cause of gonorrhea is an infection with the bacteria bacteria. It manifests itself as purulent discharge from the urethra in men, and from the vagina in women. The Polish Dermatological Society in its leaflet about this disease warns: over 50 percent women and 10 percent. men with gonorrhea have no urogenital symptoms. Gonococcal proctopharyngitis is usually asymptomatic. As a rule, in men it develops much faster than in women.

The result of gonorrhea in men, it can also be epididymitis, prostate and joint inflammation, or even meningitis. However, in women – inflammation of the ovaries or joints. Gonorrhea that affects a pregnant woman is dangerous for the fetus, because it can lead to, for example, blindness in the child.

Venereal diseases like to go hand in hand

If gonorrhea is diagnosed, it should be done tests for the presence of other sexually transmitted infections. Chlamydia trachomatis often occurs together with gonorrhea. It belongs to one of the most common venereal diseases. Unfortunately, it is a challenge for doctors because there are various strains of it. Without determining the exact type of antibiotic treatment, treatment may not be effective. Meanwhile, the bacterium is extremely “mean” because it often does not manifest itself for a long time and mutates extremely quickly.

“Scientists have recently discovered that if two strains of chlamydia attack the same person, they can mutate and produce a third more potent strain,” said Simon Harris of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in an interview.

Young people who start out are more likely to be infected with the bacterium intercourse without proper protection, that is, condoms. The next group included people engaging in risky sexual behavior with multiple partners.

Men in the dock

Experts from the British Health Protection Agency went even further in their statements. They think it is mainly male sexual promiscuity contributes to the spread of intimate diseases. Most often, men under the age of 25 report the problem to doctors. It is about both homosexuals and heterosexuals who are looking for fast sex. The size of the new epidemic would be smaller if both groups were simply using condoms. Or maybe it’s time to come back to the invention of the first farmers who dealt with venereal diseases several thousand years ago.

Scientists from the University of Waterloo in Canada, using computer simulations, concluded that It was no coincidence that monogamy emerged as the human population grew. The specialists have recently published their results in “Nature Communications”. In their opinion, fidelity to one partner appeared as the eternal wanderers merged into larger groups and the way of life changed. Early adopters found that monogamy with a larger group prevents the spread of STDs and, consequently, contributes to population growth. Thus, moral orders and punishments were not only of a spiritual dimension.

Topics that may interest you:

1. Venereology – everything you need to know
2. Embarrassing diseases are not only transmitted sexually
3. Poles downplay the problem of syphilis and the number of cases is growing