Bacterial sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including syphilis and gonorrhoea, are reaching record levels across Europe, according to new data published by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) on Thursday.
“Sexually transmitted infections have been on the rise for 10 years and reached record high levels in 2024,” said Bruno Ciancio, Head of Unit, Directly Transmitted and Vaccine-Preventable Diseases at the ECDC.
“Untreated, these infections can cause severe complications, such as chronic pain and infertility, and, in the case of syphilis, problems with the heart or nervous system”.
The latest data from 2024 show that notifications of gonorrhoea and syphilis, alongside congenital syphilis, reached their highest levels in over a decade, reflecting sustained transmission across multiple countries.
Gonorrhoea cases reached 106,331, a 303% increase since 2015, and Syphilis cases more than doubled over the same period to 45,577 cases. Chlamydia remains the most frequently reported STI, with 213,443 cases, the report found.
