STIs or “Sexually Transmitted Infections” are transmitted during sexual intercourse, with or without penetration. Chlamydia, syphilis, HIV… There are about thirty of them. Definition, examples in women/men, symptoms… Learn all about these infections which are more common than you think (and at any age).
IST is an acronym forSexually Transmitted Infection. It is an infection caused by a virus, a bacterium or a parasite which is transmitted sexually, during sexual intercourse, with or without penetration. We can also hear the term “STD” for “Sexually Transmitted Disease” or “venereal disease” (less used today). Both men and women can have STIs. What are the main STIs? In humans? Wife ? Their causes ? What are the symptoms of an STI? Is that bad to have an STI?
What is the definition of an STI?
A STI is a Iinfection Ssexually Transmissible, therefore transmitted sexually duringvaginal, anal or oral intercourse, with or without penetration. Among the STIs the most knownwe find: the HIV, gonorrhea (gonorrhea), chlamydia, syphilis, warts, vaginosis, genital herpes, hepatitis… I’WHO indicates that according to current knowledge, 30 bacteria, viruses or parasites different are transmitted through sexual contact. “The late 1990s and early 2000s saw an increase in STIsas well as the reappearance of some hitherto almost eradicated in most Western countries (syphilis for example), in connection with a decrease in the use of means of prevention“, noted Public health France. In accordance with the WHO recommendation, today, the acronym IST is now the only one used.
An STI is transmitted through contact with the sex of a person who is himself infected :
→ If a man has an STI, he can transmit the STI to a woman.
→ If a woman has an STI, she can pass the STI to a man.
→ If a man has an STI, he can pass the STI to a man.
→ If a woman has an STI, she can pass the STI to a woman.
→ An STI can be transmitted during sex without penetration = when the two sexes touch each other or when the mouth of one touches the sex of the other.
→ A mother can transmit an STI to her baby during pregnancy or childbirth.
→ STIs cannot be spread by casual contact, such as by giving food or drink, sneezing or hugging.
What are the most common STIs in women?
► According toHealth Insurance, human papillomavirus (HPV) infections are the most common sexually transmitted infection in France. 80% of women and probably as many men have an HPV infection at some point in their lives.
► According to the World Health Organization, chlamydia is one of the most common STIs in women, especially in young women. 124,082 cases of Chlamydia trachomatis infection were diagnosed in 2020 among people aged 15 and over, including 54% were women (numbers of Public health France)
► Thegenital herpes caused by a virus called herpes simplex virus (HSV): it is the fourth most sexually transmitted infection worldwide. In France, the most recent studies show that genital herpes affects approximately 17% of the population. These also show that women are more affected than men (figures from the Herpes Association)
What are the most common STIs in men?
► Human papillomavirus infections: about 80% of men will present an HPV infection at least once in their life, according to the Health Insurance
►Lhas gonorrhea (gonococcal gonorrhea, gonorrhoea or “piss-hot”): the number of cases of gonorrhea diagnosed in 2020 is around 10,000. The positivity rate for gonococcal infection is higher in trans people (6, 3%) and in men (5.8%) than in women (1.2%) (figures from Public Health France)
► HIV infection: the number of HIV positive discoveries in 2020 was estimated at 4,856, according to Public Health France. Men represent 69% of discoveries of HIV seropositivity in 2020, women 30% and trans people 1%.
► TheHepatitis B : the prevalence of HBs antigen at 0.65%, which corresponded to 280,821 people with chronic hepatitis B. Among the factors significantly associated with the positivity of anti-HBc antibodies: being a man and be over 29 years old (national survey on the prevalence of hepatitis B and C in France, Public health France).
► Syphilis: men who have sex with men account for 81% of cases reported in France (WHO).
What are the symptoms of an STI?
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are often asymptomatic, reports the WHO. When they are symptomatic, the symptoms of an STI vary depending on the infection, but generally, in the case of an STI, the person may have:
- Yellow discharge from sex
- Purulent urethral discharge
- Pimples on the penis or around the anus
- Itching in the vaginal, anal area, or near the opening of the urethra
- Burns
- Sometimes pain in the lower abdomen
- Pain when urinating
- Fever
- Yellowing skin (hepatitis)
- Pain in the joints (rare)
Is it serious to have an STI?
All STIs can be treated, most of them with very simple and almost all STIs can be cured without leaving any sequelae. But beware, an untreated STI can become serious and lead to complications (risk of blindness and other neurological manifestations, sterility, transmission from mother to child or congenital malformations, etc.) For example:
→ Human papillomavirus (HPV) and hepatitis B can cause the cancer (liver for hepatitis B or cervix for HPV)
→ Genital warts can cause cancers in men and women
→ Chlamydiosis can cause serious genital infectionsectopic pregnancies, and possibly sterility.
→ Some STIs, such as herpes, gonorrhea and syphilis, can increase the risk of contracting HIV.
To be screened for STIs, you must:
→ Consult a doctor (general practitioner, gynecologist, midwife, dermatologist) who will examine your gender.
→ If there is a suspicion of an STI, he will give you a prescription to have screening tests in an analytical laboratory. Either :
- A blood test
- A urinalysis
- A vaginal swab
→ The laboratory then sends you screening results, as well as to the prescribing physician. The results may show whether or not an STI is present. If you have an STI, a treatment will be put in place by the doctor.
→ It is also possible to do screening in a CeGIDD (Free Screening and Diagnosis Information Centre) or in a CPEF (Centre for Family Planning and Education).
→ If you have an STI, tell your partner(s) so that they can be screened, break the chain of transmission and receive appropriate treatment if infected (even in the absence of clinical signs). On this point, the High Authority for Health encourages all infected patients to inform their partners. In the first place, “it emphasizes that in consultation, the question of the partner(s) must be systematically raised by the health professional on the occasion of an STI diagnosis“. For the duration of the treatment, it will absolutely be necessary to use condoms.
Depending on the STI, the doctor can prescribe several types of treatment:
- Antibiotics (to treat chlamydiosis, for example)
- Penicillin injections (for syphilis, for example)
- Eggs to put in the vagina (in case of vaginosis for example)
- Antibiotics associated with a cream (in case of gonorrhea, mycoplasma or trichomoniasis)
Even if the signs of the disease have disappeared, it is absolutely necessary to take the treatment to the end.
For bacterial or viral STIs (gonococcal disease, gonorrhea, chlamydiosis, syphilis, hepatitis B, genital herpes, etc.) : the condom (female or male) and screening are the current means of prevention. For some STIs, there are vaccines: the vaccine against the papillomavirus and the vaccine against hepatitis B.
For HIV, other prevention strategies are also available, this is called diversified prevention:
- The systematic use of condom during sex
- A screening which allows rapid treatment if an infection is diagnosed
- PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) which is an antiretroviral treatment (continuous or on demand) that considerably reduces the risk of HIV infection in HIV-negative people
- TPE (post-exposure treatment) which is an antiretroviral treatment taken within hours of taking a risk and for 1 month, reducing the risk of HIV infection in an HIV-negative person
- TasPs (Treatment as Prevention or in French “treatment as prevention”) which have the effect of antiretroviral treatments (continuous) allowing HIV-positive people to have an undetectable plasma viral load and not to transmit HIV to sexual partners.
Sources:
– Health Insurance
– HIV-STI public health bulletin. December 2021, Public Health France
– High Authority of Health
– AIDS Info Service
– Everything you need to know about the four main curable sexually transmitted infections (STIs), WHO
– Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), WHO, August 22, 2022