The Department of Health will advance the start of prevention of sexually transmitted infections in Catalonia to 12 years of age and will thus lower the previous threshold, set at 15. The measure is part of the new Integrated Model for the Care of STIs in Catalonia, which the Government has presented to replace the strategy in force since 2009.
The change comes as the incidence continues to rise in Catalonia since 2017, with the only exception of 2020 due to the pandemic, although Girona remains below the Catalan average. In 2024, the Girona Health Region registered 275.5 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, compared to 421.7 for the country as a whole.
Health incorporates sexual health into pediatrics from age 12
The new model introduces sexual and affective health into primary care pediatric teams and consolidates reference figures in sexually transmitted infections within primary care, sexual and reproductive health services, and other care settings.
During 2026 a new notification system from primary care will arrive.
Health also plans to deploy territorial clinical referents more systematically to support professionals and adapt the response to the incidence of each area. Surveillance data will be available for public consultation in the System of Surveillance of Infections in Catalonia, SIVIC.
The update is part of the Action Plan against HIV and other STIs 2021-2030, which sets among its objectives to reduce incidence, facilitate early access to treatment, improve quality of life, and reduce stigma. Among the actions included are the free distribution of condoms, support for community prevention projects, and the expansion of testing services.
Girona closed 2024 with 176.4 cases of chlamydia per 100,000 inhabitants
In the Girona demarcation, the evolution was not the same in all infections. Chlamydia continued to grow and went from 21.9 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in 2016 to 176.4 in 2024, in addition to being the only common infection that increased compared to 2023.
Girona registered 304.7 cases in men and 243.1 in women.
Gonorrhea decreased slightly after the previous year's peak, but remained at levels much higher than eight years ago. It went from 97.5 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in 2023 to 91.2 in 2024, still far from the 22.2 recorded in 2016.
Syphilis also closed 2024 below the 2023 figure, although above the 2016 level. The rate stood at 24.9 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, compared to 30.5 the previous year and 18.4 in 2016.
Among the less frequent infections, lymphogranuloma venereum reached a rate of 4.3 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in Girona in 2024, more than double the 2 registered in 2023.
In the whole of Catalonia, the increase in cases was 5.3% in 2024 compared to the previous year.