In the Scania region, the number of infected increased by 76 percent in 2022 compared to 2021. Previously, most cases of gonorrhea were found among men who have sex with men. Now the majority in the region are infected through sex with the opposite sex. The increase cannot be explained solely by the lifting of pandemic restrictions and increased travel. Even if you compare with 2019, the increase in 2022 is still clear in Region Skåne.
A similar trend is also evident in other regions.
Increasing mainly among heterosexuals
– We see a very large increase in the Västerbotten region and we had more cases in 2022 than in the years before the pandemic, says Maria Marklund, infection control doctor in the Västerbotten region.
She does not want to go into exactly how big the increase is, but mainly it seems to be younger people in the region who are infected.
– Most of them have been infected in Sweden after sex with the opposite sex, says Maria Marklund.
But unlike in Skåne, where the increase is greatest among people under 25, in other regions it is seen that many people over 30 are also infected.
In Region Uppsala, cases increased last year by 81 percent compared to 2021. Gonorrhea has increased most in middle-aged men.
Connects to traveling
– But we also see an increase among women between the ages of 30 and 39, says Johan Hedlund, infection control nurse at the Infection Control Unit in Region Uppsala.
Can be linked to increased travel
However, the increase is from a low level.
– During the pandemic, we saw a decline in gonorrhea. Now we see an increase to the numbers we had before the pandemic. The same applies to chlamydia, but there the increase is not nearly as strong as for gonorrhea, he says.
– Our assessment is that the increase can primarily be linked to increased travel. The number of people infected with gonorrhea abroad has increased by 300 percent, says Johan Hedlund.
One theory is that many barriers are released when you are out and about and that you take chances and fail to protect yourself. That, combined with the fact that the disease is highly contagious, can explain at least part of the increase.