Bea and Sandra, aged 20 and 24, stood in front of the open information desk at Puerta del Sol and listened attentively to the explanation on how to use condoms. They then go to mobile units for rapid HIV and syphilis testing: a drop of blood and five minutes later they know whether they have the virus. «This is a health problem; if you don’t know you have the virus, you can spread it to others,” they reflect. The Madrid community is winning the fight against AIDS: over the past four years, new infections The number of cases fell by 43%. But despite the decline, health authorities are still very concerned about the surge in sexually transmitted diseases.
“We have a serious problem with them,” admits Health Minister Fátima Matute. This is not just a Madrid problem: “The incidence of these infections has increased dramatically due to the lack of awareness in society.” The generation that grew up with “Put it on, put it on” (the most famous campaign to encourage condom use) is getting older, and those who are more sexually active by age have not internalized the importance of condoms. Use condoms..
The numbers confirm this alarm: this week, 130 new cases of hepatitis B have been detected so far this year (compared to 10 in the same period last year); 458 cases of hepatitis C ( 265 cases in 2022); 5,456 cases of gonococcal infection (3,565 cases in the first 11 months of 2022); 4,986 cases of chlamydial infection (3,665 cases last year); 518 cases of lymphogranuloma venereum (316 cases in 2022); There were 1,690 syphilis cases (up from 1,571 the previous year).
Public Health Director Elena Andradas visited a mobile rapid testing unit managed by the Red Cross on the occasion of AIDS Day and recalled that in addition to the information sheets at the HIV testing centers in Madrid There are also 52 such devices scattered throughout the country. Health Center, managed by the NGO Las Alamediras. “It is very important to detect infection as quickly as possible,” he insists. In fact, rapid testing is one of their main weapons currently in the fight against the spread of HIV: in 2022, more than 11,000 people received treatment and 18,860 rapid, free and Always anonymous testing.
Although HIV treatment outcomes are excellent—rising from 1,100 new cases in 2017 to 610 in 2023—Andradas warned, “We must not let down our guard.” He insisted on prevention policies, first and foremost. It was condoms, he recalled, “over a million” of which were distributed in the community each year.
Precisely, the lack of preventive measures promoted by the use of “chemsex” (the use of drugs to enhance sexual activity) is responsible for the exponential growth of sexually transmitted diseases: “especially syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia, among young people under the age of 20 Middle 20s and 39s,” said Elena Andradas.
Bea and Sandra continued chatting among the items on display at the information table, while a volunteer twice their age explained to them: “These are female condoms, these are latex barriers, used for oral sex Or anal sex.”
incidence
One in 10 men who have sex with men is infected with HIV, and one in four has never been tested; 7 out of 10 confirmed cases of syphilis are in the same group; half of the gonorrhea cases are in this group; One-third of syphilis or gonorrhea infections are caused by oral sex. The data comes from a brochure distributed to people exposed to the device with the aim of making them aware of the importance of using condoms in sexual relationships.
The Sandoval Center is a landmark in the field of treatment of sexually transmitted diseases: it is the only public center in Madrid offering specialized care in this field. This resulted in sometimes long queues at the door and growing demand outstripping supply. For this reason, it also started opening in the afternoon a few months ago. Health officials in the region announced that the Legislature will open two new sites dedicated to handling these infections. It has not been announced where they will be located, but it will be in the southern region.
Prevention and control
In response to this growing wave, local governments have developed an action plan to prevent and control HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), which will include several interventions: from emotional sex education in schools to strengthening access to rapid diagnosis Opportunities for testing or actions aimed at combating chemical and sexual phenomena associated with drug use.
Not only will the Ministry of Health be involved in these prevention initiatives, but also other institutions such as the Ministry of Education, the Madrid City Council, different scientific associations and non-governmental organizations.