Casting Light on Old Shadows: Ending Sexually Transmitted Infection Epidemics as Public Health Concerns by 2030

Why do we need to act now? Some viral STIs, like human papillomavirus (HPV) and HIV, are still incurable and can be deadly, while some bacterial STIs – like chlamydia, gonorrhoea, syphilis and trichomoniasis – are curable if detected and treated. Each year, 357 million new cases of these four curable STIs are acquired by people aged 15–49. In addition, 417 million people in this age group have herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) infections, which can cause genital herpes disease. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) to Neisseria gonorrhoeae is increasing, which may lead to untreatable infections. In addition, new menacing diseases such as Ebola virus disease and Zika virus disease have more recently been identified and found to be sexually transmissible.