Ireland has the highest reported rate of gonorrhoea infection of 30 European countries, according to a new report.
The European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) said there has been a “troubling” rise in the most common sexually transmitted diseases across the continent.
The trend highlights a pressing need for heightened awareness, more robust prevention and greater access to testing and effective treatment, according to the Stockholm-based watchdog.
Across the 30 countries in 2022, gonorrhoea cases rose by 48 per cent year on year, with syphilis cases up 34 per cent and chlamydia cases rising 16 per cent. Reported cases of other sexually transmitted diseases, including congenital syphilis, also increased substantially.
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A record 3,812 cases of gonorrhoea were reported in Ireland in 2022, an increase of almost 60 per cent since 2018.
Almost 71,000 gonorrhoea cases were reported across Europe in 2022, with rates highest in countries with comprehensive surveillance systems. After Ireland, Luxembourg, Denmark, Spain, Malta, Iceland, Norway and Sweden recorded the highest rates of infection.
The UK is not covered in the report since it left the European Union, but in the years before Brexit it had a higher incidence of gonorrhoea than Ireland.
Sixty per cent of reported gonorrhoea cases were in men who have sex with men, but infections also increased sharply among younger men and women. The ECDC said a steep increase has been recently observed among young people aged 20–24, mostly due to heterosexual transmission.
A bacterial infection, gonorrhoea can cause pain and infertility if left untreated. Many sufferers do not experience symptoms. It is treated with antibiotics.
Ireland reported two cases of congenital syphilis between 2018 and 2022. It was one of 14 states to report the transmission of syphilis from mother to child; 11 countries reported zero cases.
In 2022, 69 cases of congenital syphilis were reported across Europe, with more than half in Bulgaria and Spain. This compared to 55 the previous year.
Ireland also reported 27 cases of lymphogranuloma venereum, a venereal disease transmitted through anal sex, almost double the previous year’s total. Some 2,059 cases of the disease were reported across Europe.
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