More people got tested for an STI at Sexual Health Centres (SHCs) in 2022 than in 2021. There were a total of 164,715 consultations at SHCs. The percentage of people found to have an STI (21%) was also higher than in 2021. People who had been alerted by a partner or had symptoms were most often found to have an STI. No figures are available yet on the number of people who got tested for an STI at their GP practice in 2022.
Of all STIs, gonorrhoea saw the largest increase in 2022. With 10,600 diagnoses, this was a 33% increase compared to 2021, when there were 7,964 cases. The number of women and heterosexual men with gonorrhoea increased significantly. For women, the percentage of positive tests rose from 1.5% in 2021 to 2.3% in 2022. For men, the percentage rose from 1.8% to 2.4%. This represents the highest percentage for women since 2013. The increase was mainly seen in the second half of 2022. For men who have sex with men (MSM) who did not take part in the PrEP pilot, the percentage increased slightly, from 12.4% to 12.8%. For MSM who did take part in the PrEP pilot, the percentage rose from 9.2% to 9.8%.
Chlamydia
There were 24,684 chlamydia diagnoses in 2022, up 21% from 2021. The percentage of women with chlamydia was higher in 2022 than in 2021, rising from 16.2% to 17.9%. The percentages of heterosexual men and MSM with chlamydia decreased slightly to 21.2 and 10.9%, respectively.
Syphilis
At 1,574 cases, the number of syphilis diagnoses was also higher than in 2021, when there were 1,398 such diagnoses. However, there was a slight decrease in the percentage of positive tests for MSM, from 2.6% in 2021 to 2.3% in 2022. For MSM who took part in the PrEP pilot, the percentage remained the same (1.7%). The number of diagnoses for women and heterosexual men remained low in 2022: 0.29% for heterosexual men and 0.15% for women.
HIV
In 2022, 144 people were diagnosed with HIV. This was slightly more than in 2021, when 138 people were diagnosed with HIV. Of those 144 people, 10 were diagnosed among PrEP pilot participants, 4 of whom were diagnosed upon entering the pilot. The number of diagnoses was 11 for women and 8 for heterosexual men. In 2022, 997 people living with HIV attended an HIV treatment centre for the first time. This was up 26% from 2021 (794 people).
PrEP pilot
Since August 2019, SHCs have also been offering care to people taking pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). PrEP is a drug that prevents HIV. MSM and other persons at increased risk of HIV can take part in a pilot where they receive PrEP. These PrEP pilot participants are tested for STIs every 3 months.
By the end of 2022, the PrEP pilot programme had an estimated 8,558 participants. The percentage of participants with an STI in 2022 was 39.8%.
Mpox
In May 2022, the first cases of mpox (previously known as monkeypox) were reported in the Netherlands. A total of 1,259 mpox infections were reported to RIVM last year, 92% of which were among MSM.