During the first six months of the year, the number of cases of people infected with the venereal disease gonorrhea has increased in Sweden.
This is written by the Swedish news agency TT.
According to the Swedish health authorities, the increase is approximately six percent compared to the same period in 2023.
The increase is noticeable both in Sweden and in other EU countries, it says.
More people are also at risk of being affected during holiday periods.
– Many have time for vacation, it’s warm times, the emotions come, and then it might be easier to meet partners, says Inga Velicko, head of unit at the Folkhälsomyndigheten, Sweden’s answer to the National Health Agency, to TT.
Among the symptoms of gonorrhea is that it hurts when you urinate. But it is actually not certain that you will feel any symptoms at all.
According to the Swedish health authorities, the biggest increase occurs in the age group between 20 and 29 years.
But there are also cases of infection in higher age groups such as 30 to 39, 40 to 49 and 50 to 59 years, writes TT.
Inga Velicko believes that more people need to be tested in order to reduce the number of cases in Sweden.
If you have traveled abroad and had sex there, a test can be particularly important, reads the call from the Swedish health authorities.
It is not only this year that the infection with gonorrhea has been increasing in our neighboring country.
In 2021, there were a total of 2,691 infected people. It rose to 3,355 in 2022 and to 4,212 in 2023, according to figures from the Norwegian Public Health Authority.
At home, we have seen a similar trend, figures from the Statens Serum Institut (SSI) show.
In ten years, the number of Danes affected by gonorrhea has increased fivefold from 801 in 2013 to 4,044 in November 2023, Politiken has previously revealed.
In Denmark, too, the health authorities encourage you to be tested if you fear being infected after unprotected sex.
Untreated gonorrhea can cause sterility for both men and women.
Symptoms for both sexes are burning when urinating and discharge.
According to SSI, approximately half of infected women have no symptoms, while approximately one third of men do not feel that they are infected.
/ritzau/
Source: www.kristeligt-dagblad.dk
