Increase in young people infected with STIs raises awareness about condom use

Student Vinícius Matos, aged 21, experienced, in the first week of March, an increasingly common episode among young people: he was diagnosed with a IS after having sex with an infected person. There were several visits to the doctor, public and private, to discover that she had gonorrhea and, from then on, to start treatment.

Vinícius' case is not isolated. According to the latest edition of HIV/AIDS Epidemiological Bulletin, released by the Ministry of Health, there has been an increase in new infections over the last decade. Syphilis, another IS, has also spread strongly in the country: there were 64.300 cases in the first half of 2021 — the number is 16 times higher than that recorded in the entire year 2010.

Between 2011 and 2021, the number of HIV diagnoses increased from 13,7 to 40,9. By June 2022, 16,7 cases had already been registered. According to the study, 23,7% of HIV cases that progressed to AIDS in 2022 are in young people between 15 and 24 years old.

According to infectologist Elna Amaral, when discovered in advance, the STIs leave no consequences. However, if not treated soon, they can develop into serious cases and even be fatal.

“The ones that cause the most consequences are syphilis, which can leave a serious neurological condition or be fatal; gonorrhea and chlamydia, which cause infertility; HPV, which is a cancer-causing virus — in the uterus, vagina, penis and anus; in addition to hepatitis B and C, which can cause cirrhosis and liver cancer”, he details.

Safe sex

According to the latest edition of National Health Survey, carried out by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), 59% of Brazilians over 18 years of age said they had not used a condom during sexual intercourse. Among them, until 2018, was Michelle Monteiro. Aged 25 at the time, the young woman contracted genital herpes from her ex-boyfriend. They did not use condoms during sexual intercourse.

Michelle says she learned her lesson and, after the episode, she didn't have sex without a condom, including with her current boyfriend. “When I was single, I stopped having relationships because of this, because there are a lot of men who don't want to use it and keep forcing it”, says Michele. For her, it is necessary to be determined to be uncompromising in these situations. “After I got herpes I was like this,” she says.

The use of condoms is the best known and most accessible method for preventing sexually transmitted infections, such as syphilis, HIV, gonorrhea and even some types of hepatitis. Furthermore, condoms prevent unplanned pregnancies. Both internal and external condoms are distributed free of charge by the Unified Health System (SUS).

Infectious disease specialist Elna Amaral states that there is a lack of care among young people when it comes to the use of condoms. But why are they more lax when it comes to safe sex?

“The idea that it will never happen to them or wanting to have an adventure are factors that contribute to these numbers of infections.” Furthermore, existing treatments give the false illusion that STIs are not serious.

The data is alarming because it indicates that young people are minimizing the risk of contracting these infections, which, although they are less fatal – due to available treatments – are still problems that impact the public health system and people's quality of life. .

Read also

Scientists use TikTok to explain and combat climate change

Perhaps you have already come across, when browsing the favorite of Generation Z, profiles that talk about the climate crisis. Directly from Antarctica or next to a polluted river, they are trying to increase climate change literacy, campaign for action or combat rampant misinformation online.

Receive news and newsletters do Curto News by Telegram e WhatsApp.