Finland sees unprecedented rise in STIs

The number of sexually transmitted infections in Finland reached a new record in 2023, and the infection rates for the early part of this year do not show signs of a decline, Report informs, citing Yle News.

Health experts are particularly concerned about a rise in gonorrhea infections, which are also increasing across Europe.

Last year, Finland recorded more than 1,300 gonorrhea cases, up from fewer than 500 in 2020.

Girls and young women aged 15–19 are now being diagnosed with gonorrhea more often than males of the same age.

Infections among young people are often asymptomatic. The number of gonorrhea cases in Finland doubled in 2022 after coronavirus restrictions ended.

"We have previously had 300–500 infections per year, but in 2023, the number exceeded a thousand, and in 2022, it was nearly one thousand infections," said Eija Hiltunen-Back, a specialist at Helsinki University Hospital's venereal diseases clinic.

For years, the World Health Organization (WHO) has raised the alarm about the spread of antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea. These types of cases have already emerged in Sweden and Denmark, and public health officials suggest it's only a matter of time before Finland sees a resistant strain of the bacterial infection.