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View all search resultsSyphilis cases surge among teens amid risky behavior, lack of education
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Illustration of syphilis testing. (Courtesy of/Shutterstock)
S
yphilis infections in Indonesia have continued to rise over the past few years, with a notable upward trend being recorded among teenagers, a situation attributed by health experts to risky sexual behavior and a lack of comprehensive sex education.
The Health Ministry noted over 24,000 cases of syphilis in 2024, double the number reported in 2018. The surge aligns with a broader increase in sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV, gonorrhea, chlamydia, hepatitis B, herpes and human papillomavirus (HPV).
“The increases have occurred alongside a rise in testing efforts aimed at detecting active cases,” Health Ministry director for communicable diseases Ina Agustina Isturini said in a press briefing last week.
She further revealed that the majority of STIs remain concentrated among adults aged 25 to 49, but cases among teenagers aged 15 to 19 have almost doubled in just two years, from 2,500 in 2022 to over 4,500 in 2024. Nearly half of these were syphilis infections.
HIV cases are most prevalent in Jakarta, East Java, Central Java, North Sumatra, Bali and Papua. High-risk populations, including men who have sex with men, female sex workers, transgender individuals and people who inject drugs, account for over a third of cases. Other affected groups include pregnant women, tuberculosis and hepatitis patients and engaged couples.
Read also: Indonesia to push DNA screening for cervical cancer nationwide
“Besides the large number of cases among key populations, HIV infections among the general population [outside these categories] are also quite high,” Ina said. “People of all ages, from newborns infected by their mothers to the elderly, can contract HIV.”
