Sexually transmitted diseases on the rise in Belgium

The number of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in Belgium continues to rise, according to figures from  the Scientific Institute of Public Health, reports Le Soir.

Chlamydia is the most common STD in Belgium, with a sharp increase in the number of cases in Flanders between 2002 and 2013, from 8.3 to 45.7 per 100,000 inhabitants. That is twice as many as in Wallonia, where the number increased in the same period from 4.9 to 21 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. But the highest number of chlamydia infections was diagnosed in Brussels, from 31.1 to 99.1 per 100,000 inhabitants.

The number of people diagnosed with gonorrhea, or the clap, is also on the rise. But syphilis is especially alarming, up from 2.6 to 28.4 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in Brussels.

The actual figures are likely much higher, explains Le Soir, because screening for STDs is not standard procedure, and because 40% of the microbiology labs don’t communicate data on STDs.