Public Health in the News: STIs On The Rise

Article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/why-sex-related-infections-are-spreading-again-quicktake/2019/06/06/f32ac40e-8864-11e9-9d73-e2ba6bbf1b9b_story.html?utm_term=.a960c42a0c10

Gale, Jason. (June 7, 2019) Why Sex-Related Infections Are Spreading Again: QuickTake. Washington Post. Available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/why-sex-related-infections-are-spreading-again-quicktake/2019/06/06/f32ac40e-8864-11e9-9d73-e2ba6bbf1b9b_story.html?utm_term=.a960c42a0c10 (Accessed on June 9, 2019).

This article describes the recent rise in STI infections in rich countries due to inconsistent condom usage, abuse of illegal recreational drugs, and antibiotic resistance. Chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis increased by about 10% in 2017. The annual rate of reported cases of syphilis in the U.S. has increased to 31.4 cases per 100,000 people in 2017 from 15.9 cases per 100,000 in 2012. The article draws attention to a similar pattern in other developed countries such as France, Belgium, Ireland, and the UK. Even though most syphilis cases are in low/middle-income countries, the largest increases in the rate of diagnosis are in wealthy countries. In these wealthy countries, syphilis has spread from high-risk groups to the wider community. The CDC says this increased incidence is associated with the rise of sexualized drug use.

On the other hand, the annual reported cases of gonorrhea have roughly doubled from 2013 to 2017 in Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Norway, Spain, and Sweden. The STI can be spread seemingly unknowingly through actions such as kissing. The increase in gonorrhea cases has been linked to a rise in antibiotic resistance.

These trends show that despite wealthy countries having the resources and money available to combat STIs, despite the perceived progress wealthy countries have made against battling STIs, the number of sex-related infections have been increasing. When we think of STIs HIV/AIDS come to mind. When we think of STI prevention condom usage comes to mind. The U.S.’s emphasis on HIV/AIDS research and awareness has produced great positive results such as the introduction of drugs that prevent the transmission of HIV. However, these developments have indirectly promoted the inconsistent use of condoms and ignorance of other STIs. There is no question that we need to continue to educate the public about safe sex. But it is not enough to just educate about condom usage. We also need to place more of an emphasis on other sexually transmitted diseases, not just HIV. Antibiotic resistance is also becoming an increasingly important topic in health. More research needs to be put into developing new medications, patients need to be educated about the importance of finishing medications, and we also need to address the issue of the overprescription of antibiotics. Finally, we need to put more effort into destigmatizing STIs so that those infected can receive proper treatment.

I agree with the conclusions drawn in the article, but for different reasons. A possible reason for this rise in STIs could be because of the increased education of the public and better methods of detection in developed countries. Furthermore, I think the U.S. has seen more cases brought to light because of the progress already made towards destigmatizing STIs.

I would like to know the statistics from the other countries mentioned in the article. How much has the incidence of STIs increased in these countries? Have these countries allocated as much money towards preventable health care as the U.S.? Maybe the rise in STIs in each of these countries are not linked to a common cause. More information about drug use and the LGBT community in the countries mentioned would help to see if those could be causational factors of the rise in STIs. Furthermore, the data supported the idea that the number of STIs has increased, but there was no data supporting the potential causes of these increases. Lastly, data on where in the rich countries mentioned are cases of STIs populated; rich countries still have poor areas within them.

I do trust this source, but not completely. Although I agree with the opinions and suggestions stated in the article, the statistics in the text are not linked to sources. The article references the CDC and WHO in the embedded graphs and the CDC for a possible explanation of the increased number of syphilis cases, but no study or journal was referenced for any other statistic listed. More data on this trend needs to be collected and analyzed. I think more articles discussing health trends in the news need to put a greater emphasis on this.

This article states that the incidence of STIs was originally focused in the gay/bisexual male community but have now spread to other communities. I feel like this isn’t emphasized enough, that STIs do not discriminate. Work should still be geared towards populations with a high risk, but the education of STIs and safe sex practices shouldn’t be limited to just those groups but everyone.