Gonorrhoea and Syphilis Hit Record Levels in Europe, Data Shows

Gonorrhoea and syphilis cases hit record highs in Europe in 2024, according to new data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

The ECDC said both infections reached their highest levels in over a decade last year.

Gonorrhoea cases rose to 106,331, a 303% increase since 2015, while syphilis cases more than doubled to 45,557 over the same period.

The health agency attributed the surge partly to “widening gaps in testing and prevention” and called for urgent action.

“These infections can cause severe complications, such as chronic pain and infertility and, in the case of syphilis, problems with the heart or nervous system,” said Bruno Ciancio, head of the ECDC’s Directly Transmitted and Vaccine-Preventable Diseases unit.

Ciancio noted that congenital syphilis cases — “where infections pass directly to newborns, leading to potentially lifelong complications” — nearly doubled from 2023 to 2024.

The ECDC said: “Protecting your sexual health remains straightforward. Use condoms with new or multiple partners, and get tested if you have symptoms.”

Spain had the highest number of confirmed gonorrhoea and syphilis cases among participating European countries in 2024, with 37,169 and 11,556 cases respectively.

Chlamydia remained the most commonly reported bacterial infection overall, but cases fell 6% from 2015 to 213,443.

The United Kingdom, which left the European Union in 2020, is not included in the ECDC research but publishes its own data for England annually.

A UK Health Security Agency report published in December showed 71,802 gonorrhoea cases and 9,535 syphilis cases in England in 2024.

The same report recorded 168,889 chlamydia diagnoses during the 12-month period.

The UK rolled out a gonorrhoea vaccine in 2025 after cases hit a record 85,000 in 2023.