According to a report from the Singaporean newspaper “Lianhe Zaobao”, the World Health Organization (WHO) has recently warned that there are more than 1 million new cases of sexually transmitted infections every day worldwide, and countries have made little progress in preventing the spread of these diseases. The WHO also noted that the use of dating apps has exacerbated this problem.
The WHO report stated that in 2016, there were over 376 million new cases of syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia and trichomoniasis. The data from the organization showed that on average, one out of every 25 people globally is infected with at least one sexually transmitted pathogen.
Todora Giorgiev, a WHO official for human reproductive health said that excessive confidence and easy access to treatment have resulted in less attention being paid to HIV virus and a decrease in condom usage, leading to an increase in other STIs. She pointed out that people are “becoming increasingly lax” in their defences, which is very dangerous. The increased use of dating apps further exacerbates this problem. “Sexually transmitted infections are everywhere and much more common than we think,” she said.
Sara Mamo, director for global health events planning at the WHO said in a statement that “this is a wake-up call to ensure everyone can access services for prevention and treatment of these diseases”. It is reported that if patients do not receive appropriate treatment it can lead to serious and chronic illnesses including neurological and cardiovascular diseases, infertility, stillbirths as well as an increased risk for HIV infection.