‘Dating apps increase sexual diseases’

“Dating apps make connecting and expanding opportunities to meet faster and easier than ever, establishing temporary relationships, which can lead to an increase in the number of sexual partners, thereby increasing the possibility of sexually transmitted diseases,” Doctor CK2 Nguyen Thi Phan Thuy, Director of Ho Chi Minh City Dermatology Hospital, said at a scientific conference organized by the hospital on December 1.

According to Dr. Thuy, sexually transmitted infections have a major impact on global public health, increasing the burden on the health system, increasing stigma and domestic violence. If not treated properly and appropriately, the disease can lead to serious consequences such as infertility, complications during pregnancy such as miscarriage, stillbirth, and birth defects. Sexual infections such as herpes, gonorrhea and syphilis can increase your risk of getting HIV fivefold. In addition, HPV and hepatitis B bacteria increase the risk of cancer…

Besides the popularity of dating apps and social networks, some factors that contribute to the increase in sexually transmitted diseases are the increase in the rate of men who have sex with men (MSM), the use of drugs as a increased risky sexual behaviors, the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic weakens immunity. In addition, the Covid-19 pandemic has reduced medical resources for clinics and sexually transmitted disease control programs, contributing to the increase in cases.

The World Health Organization (WHO) records that every day globally there are about one million new cases of sexually transmitted diseases, most of which are asymptomatic. Ho Chi Minh City Dermatology Hospital will receive more than 75,000 cases of sexual diseases in 2023, with a rapid increase every year, especially after the Covid-19 epidemic.

“Many sexually transmitted diseases that were previously thought to have been well controlled are now having an outbreak again,” said Dr. Thuy. WHO warns that syphilis is increasing significantly, especially in regions such as the Americas and Africa, with the number of syphilis cases in adults exceeding 8 million by 2022. Notably, the number of cases Congenital syphilis has recorded more than 700,000 cases. Epidemiologists estimate the number of syphilis cases will increase over the next decade.

The number of gonorrhea infections among homosexual men also increased, accounting for about 60% of cases, most of which have no symptoms. What is worrying is that gonorrhea bacteria are resistant to nearly every drug ever used to treat it. Some other diseases such as mango seed disease, which are not common in Vietnam, have now begun to record many cases.

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Trong Hao, President of Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine, President of Ho Chi Minh City Dermatology Association, said that the increase in sexually transmitted diseases causes many challenges in diagnosis, treatment, prevention. Disease patterns are changing a lot. Some diseases that used to be very rare are now appearing more often, many of which do not cause symptoms, making the disease even more contagious.

Specifically, in diagnosemany tests have high costs, making it difficult to deploy widely in the community, especially in low- and middle-income countries with low medical resources like Vietnam. Meanwhile, if we only approach symptoms, based on the patient’s testimony, it will be easy to miss asymptomatic cases. Not to mention, there are many cases of many types of sexual diseases at the same time, as well as many sexual infections occurring in non-genital locations, causing many difficulties in diagnosis.

With treatmentthe instructions are not consistent, leading to confusion in application. The risk of shortage of treatment drugs is happening in many places. The global drug resistance situation is very alarming, making effective treatment difficult.

In preventa notable issue is that the effectiveness of PrEP medicine against HIV infection has significantly reduced the rate of condom use and more open sexual habits, leading to an increased risk of sexually transmitted diseases. other sex. A European study found that PrEP users had a 24% increased rate of sexually transmitted diseases compared to non-users.

In addition, there is still discrimination and difficulty accessing public health facilities for the gay and transgender community. This makes patients afraid to go to the doctor, or go to unauthorized and unreliable clinics, making the disease even more difficult to control.

In many developed countries, pregnant women are screened for syphilis at their first prenatal check-up. People with risky behaviors are tested at 28 weeks of pregnancy and before birth to screen children for congenital syphilis. Some places also test all patients admitted to hospital emergency rooms for syphilis. Currently, the screening program in Vietnam is not developed, missing many cases in the community, especially syphilis in newborns.