Chlamydia, gonorrhoea, syphilis and tricomoniasis: 1 in 25 people suffer from at least one of these sexually-transmitted diseases in the world

In total, more than a million new sexually-transmitted diseases (STDs) are contracted every day according to a recent study by the World Health Organisation (WHO). These infections are far from harmless and can lead to serious complications.

From inflammation to chronic pain, nerve disorders or cardiovascular disease, not to mention sterility and extra-uterine pregnancy, there are many potential complications caused by these infections. Take syphilis as an example: that disease alone caused the death of 200 000 new-born infants in 2016.

Theoretically, all bacterial STDs can be treated. The increase in antibiotic resistance in gonorrhoea, however, along with the shortages in benzathine benzylpenicillin (the drug used to treat syphilis), could render these diseases difficult, even impossible, to treat once again.

Given that STDs are often asymptomatic, the WHO recommends frequent screening following high- risk behaviour, along with obligatory screenings for pregnant women. They have fixed a goal of reducing worldwide gonorrhoea and syphilis incidence by 90% between 2018 and 2030.