Wealth is increasingly and unfairly concentrated among a privileged few. Jesus said: “Watch out! Life does not consist in an abundance of possessions”.
Around 80% of sexually active people will get a STD. The average age of the patients has decreased.
The change of habits in sexual behavior, with fewer monogamous relationships, and an earlier age to start sexual intercourse (around 14), has opened many more doors to the possibility of venereal infections.
Around 80% of sexually active people will get a sexually transmitted disease (STD) throughout their lives, although in most cases (more than 80%) the virus will not manifest and disappear by itself.
BIG INCREASE OS STD CASES
“1% of infected people will develop genital warts, from the human papilloma virus (HPV), which have a cure. Between 15 and 20% of the STD cases can evolve into pathologyes, when the virus persists”, says the andrologist Álvaro Vives, head of the STD Unit of the Fundació Puigvert and head of the Woman Health at the Dexeus University Hospital in Barcelona, Spain.
Vives recalls that “twenty years ago we saw one or two cases a year of gonorrhea or syphilis, two of the most common STD”, and now “we can see 12 or 13 every day”.
The official figures confirm the increase in infections. According to the Public Health Agency of Catalonia, in 2016 1,447 cases of syphilis were reported (90% of them contracted by men), which means a rate of 20.3 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, while in 2007 there were 3,2.
More than 40% of the patients infected with syphilis were under 25 years of age and a case of a child under 15 was also registered.
Additionally, there were 2,704 cases of gonorrhea (84% in men) in 2016, that is 38 out of every 100,000 inhabitants, while in 2007 they were 5.3.
WOMEN STD
“Of all the most common STDs, the only one that occurs more in women than in men is chlamydia”, says Maria Jesús Barberà, doctor and coordinator of the STD Drassanes-Vall d'Hebron Unit, also in Barcelona.
In 2016, 3,931 cases of chlamydia were reported, 55 per 100,000 inhabitants (while in 2011 they were 9.5), 61% of whom were women and the average age was 28. Around one fourth were younger than 25 years old, and one fifth, younger than 15.
THE IMPORTANCE OF EARLY SCREENING
The registration of STD cases has increased due to “more and more sensitive diagnostic methods, such as molecular biology techniques, and the application of screening policies”, doctor Vives explains.
The symptoms of these diseases can take between one and three weeks to appear. In the case of HIV, the onset of symptoms due to immunosuppression can take years.
This is why the screening of the population at risk is very important, to detect carriers without symptoms. Approximately half of sexually transmitted diseases are asymptomatic.
The population at risk are “sexually active people without a stable partner and who do not use condom protection in their relationships", Barberà explains.
“If they have a history of previous venereal infections, that is also a risk marker”, she adds.
Doctor Vives warns that “these diseases, always affect a minimum of two people, so it is advisable to treat the patient and all their partners”.
An interview with the socio-political representative of the European Evangelical Alliance about how evangelical Christians work at the heart of the European Union.
An interview with Lars Dahle, of the Steering Committee of the Lausanne Movement Global Consultation on Nominal Christianity held in Rome.
RZIM International Director Michael Ramsden responds to questions about the secularisation of Europe, the role of Christians in public leadership and the new ‘culture of victimism’.
Photos of the Spanish Evangelical Alliance’s annual gathering “Idea 2019”, in Murcia. Politicians and church leaders discussed about the role of minorities in society.
Christians rallied in Sofia on November 18 to defend their rights. It is the second Sunday of peaceful demonstrations against a new religion draft law that could severely restrict religious freedom and rights of minority faith confessions.
Abolitionists marched through 400 cities in 51 countries. Pictures from Valencia (Spain), October 20.
Seminars, an arts exhibition, discussion and testimonies. The European Disability Network met in Tallinn.
Prayer, truth, dialogue between the parties and justice are some of the actions of the Church in Venezuela.
After one year in captivity, “the least we can do is to stand with her, to protest and to pray until we see her released”, says Mervyn Thomas of Christian Solidarity Worldwide.
In an interview, Lindsay Brown analyses three challenges for the church in Europe and elsewhere and how they can be turned into opportunities for the gospel.
A debate about science and faith between Oxford Emeritus Professor of Mathematics John Lennox and Oxford Emeritus Professor in Chemistry Peter Atkins. Moderated by journalist Justin Brierley.
Opinions expressed are those of their respective contributors and do not necessarily represent the views of Evangelical Focus.
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