Cases of syphilis and HIV/AIDS increase among young men

Data from the Ministry of Health indicate that the country has been recording a drop in HIV/AIDS cases, but not among men aged 15 to 29. In this range, the rate has increased, reaching, in 2021, 53.3% of infected people aged 25 to 29. The folder’s numbers also record an increase in syphilis cases in men, women and pregnant women.

In the month in which the Red December campaign takes place, an initiative to raise awareness of the importance of preventing the HIV/AIDS virus and other Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), the Brazilian Society of Urology (SBU) warns that, if left untreated, these Infections can cause lesions in the genital organs, infertility, neurological and cardiovascular diseases and even cancer such as uterine and penile cancer.

Throughout the month of December, the medical society clarifies the main doubts involving STIs through live, posts and videos on your social media profile (@portaldaurologia).

Vaccination

Although SUS offers HPV vaccination for boys and girls aged 9 to 14, according to the Ministry of Health, coverage of the second dose is 27.7% among boys. Among girls, coverage is higher, reaching 54.3%, but still far from the recommended 95%.

Karin Jaeger Anzolch, director of Communications at SBU and one of those responsible for the campaign, said that urologists have noticed that the use of condoms during sexual intercourse has declined significantly in recent years, while the transmission of STIs remains on the rise.

“Another major concern is that many of these infections are becoming resistant to existing treatments in various parts of the world. For these reasons, we decided that we have to talk more about the subject again, alert and educate the population and health agents, and this is the third consecutive year that we have adopted Red December, already a traditional AIDS awareness month, as the month dedicated to the theme of all STIs”,

said the doctor, in a note.

Symptoms

STIs can be caused by viruses, bacteria or other microorganisms. Among the most common are genital herpes, syphilis, HPV, HIV/AIDS, chancroid, hepatitis B and C, gonorrhea, chlamydia, pelvic inflammatory disease, lymphogranuloma venereum and trichomoniasis.

Some STIs, in their initial stage, are silent, showing no signs or symptoms, or the initial symptoms may disappear spontaneously, giving the false impression that the disease has been cured, which can delay treatment and worsen complications and consequences. which can be infertility, cancer and even death.

Among the most common symptoms are: wounds, discharge, warts, pelvic pain, burning when urinating, skin lesions and increased swelling.

The use of condoms (male or female) remains the best form of prevention, in addition to vaccination against STIs such as HPV and hepatitis.

HIV/AIDS statistics

Data from the Ministry of Health’s 2022 HIV/Aids Epidemiological Bulletin indicate that the number of infected people has been falling, except among men aged 15 to 29. According to the bulletin, the number of people infected with HIV in 2021 was highest among men aged 25 to 29 (53.3%). In women, the highest rate was recorded between 40 and 44 years old (18.4%).

In 2021 alone, 28,967 virus infections were recorded in people aged between 15 and 39 years old, 22,699 among men and 6,268 among women.

When analyzing the number of cases in general, the largest number in recent years has been recorded among males.

According to Karin Anzolch, at the time AIDS broke out, and for several years afterwards, many people were scared and actually started to adopt and demand the use of condoms, as well as starting to be more careful when choosing partners. However, over time, many people became careless and began to trivialize the risks of contagion, which not only left them re-exposed to HIV, but to all other STIs that are highly prevalent.

Another important point to highlight, according to the doctor, is that, although people living with HIV today have effective treatments available that not only prolong, but also offer a good quality of life, one cannot forget that, for Therefore, they need to regularly and constantly take medication and have a very strict routine of care, examinations and medical controls, as it is still an incurable disease.

“Now imagine a young person, starting his life, contracting a disease like this and already having to live with this burden, influencing his entire present and future. And this is what is happening, unfortunately, especially among young men, where there has been an increase in the incidence of the disease. This is the result of a number of reasons, but without a doubt exposure during unprotected sex, as well as injecting drug use, are among the main factors,”

said the doctor.

Since the beginning of the AIDS epidemic (1980) until 2021, 371,744 deaths due to the disease were reported in Brazil. The highest proportion of these deaths occurred in the Southeast (56.6%), followed by the South (17.9%), Northeast (14.5%), North (5.6%) and Central-West (5.4%) regions. ).

Syphilis Statistics

According to the Epidemiological Bulletin Síphilis 2023, from the Ministry of Health, from 2012 to 2022, 1,237,027 cases of acquired syphilis, 537,401 cases of syphilis in pregnant women, 238,387 cases of congenital syphilis and 2,153 deaths from congenital syphilis were reported in the country. There was an increase in the detection rate of acquired syphilis from 2012 to 2022, except in 2020, probably due to the covid-19 pandemic.

The bulletin also indicates an increase in cases and detection rate of pregnant women with syphilis, from 2012 to 2022. The Southeast Region is the champion, with 248,741 registered cases, followed by the Northeast, with 112,073.

“Syphilis initially manifests itself as a lesion on the skin, in the place where the inoculation was carried out through direct contact with the lesion of an infected person (primary syphilis). Even without treatment, this initial injury heals spontaneously, giving the false impression that the injury was ‘nothing serious’, but the person remains infected and the disease continues to evolve, potentially causing the patient’s death,”

highlighted Alfredo Canalini, president of the SBU.

In the opinion of the vice-president of the SBU, Roni de Carvalho Fernandes, to combat syphilis in Brazil, some measures could be adopted, such as education and awareness, easier access to tests and treatments, improvements in the health system, expansion of prenatal care and strengthening epidemiological surveillance.

“It is important to emphasize that the adoption of these measures must be carried out in an integrated and continuous manner, aiming at the prevention, detection and adequate treatment of syphilis to reduce its incidence and impact in Brazil”,

recommends Fernandes.

HPV vaccination

The human papillomavirus (HPV) is responsible for around 50% of cancers, including the cervix, anus, vulva, vagina, oropharynx and penis. And vaccination against HPV is the most effective way to prevent infection.

The SBU carries out the #Vemprouro campaign every year in September, to raise awareness of male adolescent health, and takes the opportunity to draw attention to the importance of immunization.

According to doctor Karin, the vaccination rate is still far below ideal, especially among boys. In addition to cancer, HPV can also cause genital warts that are long and difficult to treat, which stigmatize the person and lead to consequences in relationships and risk of transmission.

“People with immunosuppression, which includes transplant recipients and people living with HIV, have even greater risks, and the age range for free vaccination in this group and for people who are victims of sexual violence has been extended to up to 45 years. We have been working hard on HPV vaccination, precisely for all these issues, but especially among male teenagers, an audience that is not yet sufficiently motivated or targeted to receive this benefit”, says Karin.

As HPV is a disease that is most often asymptomatic and remits spontaneously within two years, many people do not discover they have the virus and transmit it to their partners. Hence the importance of encouraging vaccination. The vaccine is available in the SUS for boys and girls aged 9 to 14 (in addition to immunosuppressed people), but coverage is still nowhere near the recommended target of 95%.

Among the consequences of HPV are cervical and penile cancer. In 2021, more than 6 thousand deaths of women were recorded due to cervical cancer, according to the Ministry of Health’s Mortality Information System (SIM). And it is estimated that more than 17 thousand new cases will appear in 2023.

Regarding penile cancer, from 2007 to 2022, 7,790 penile amputations resulting from malignant tumors were carried out in the SUS, equivalent to an average of 486 procedures per year. Regarding the number of deaths due to the disease, an average of 400 per year is recorded.

*With information from Agência Brasil

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