Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 1982:32:149-56.

Epidemiology of sexually transmitted diseases in the Scandinavian countries

  • PMID: 6958011

Epidemiology of sexually transmitted diseases in the Scandinavian countries

H Hansson et al. Scand J Infect Dis Suppl. 1982.

Abstract

In the Scandinavian countries, laws require reporting of the traditional venereal diseases, i.e., gonorrhea, syphilis, lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV), and ulcus molle, or chancroid. Incidence figures for these diseases, therefore, are fairly reliable. In the Scandinavian countries, LGV and chancroid are rare diseases, and the syphilis incidence has remained low. These three diseases are typically male afflictions. Gonorrhea outnumbers the other diseases mentioned and at present has a nearly 1:1 male: female ratio. In Scandinavia, as in other parts of the world after World War II, gonorrhea has shown great epidemiological fluctuations. A heavy increase in its incidence was evident in Sweden and Denmark during the 1960s. During the 1970s, however, the incidence in Sweden dropped significantly, with the 1980 figures corresponding to those seen in 1960. Sweden now has the lowest incidence of gonorrhea among the Scandinavian countries. During the past three years, the incidence of infections with penicillinase-producing gonococci (PPNG) has increased. Most of the strains isolated have originated from the Far East. As documented in several recent investigations, genital chlamydial infections are at least as common as gonorrhea in the Scandinavian countries. Acute salpingitis has been shown to be a common complication of such infections. Among the other sexually transmitted diseases (STD), Trichomonas infections are still common. The prevalence of genital warts and of Herpes Simplex Virus (type 2) infections is increasing and within the next few years these probably can be expected to become an even greater problem than are the traditional venereal diseases, because no specific treatment is yet available.

PubMed Disclaimer