Emerging and re-emerging sexually transmitted diseases: A review of epidemiological evidences

Abstract

Substantial increase in the outbreaks of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and associated mortalities have raised international concerns. Concurrent with the escalation of established STIs, developing epidemics and outbreaks of newly emerging sexually transmissible pathogens pose serious problems for people and added burden and challenges for public health practitioners and researchers. Importantly, most of the emerging STIs are frequently found among vulnerable groups, such as men having sex with men and human immunodeficiency virus patients, which may result in large outbreaks in the near future. Furthermore, enhanced spread of antimicrobial resistance among these pathogens ever more limits treatment options for STIs. Thus, it is the optimal time to consider whether an infectious agent is sexually transmissible and develop treatment protocol for handling new STIs with pandemic potential. In this review, we explore emerging STIs, their current epidemiological status, and future perspective.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of sexually transmitted infections and blood-borne viruses in travellers

“…The epidemiology of STIs is changing, driven by the emergence of infections that can be transmitted via sexual contact such as Zika virus infection 13 and Mpox, 14 the adoption of prevention measures such as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) of HIV 15 and changes in patterns of sexual behaviour due to the rise of dating apps. 16 This makes prevention and control strategies more challenging.…”