Sexually transmitted infection alert this summer: 'Testing and prevention'

With summer, sexual health is also at greater risk: casual encounters and travel can increase the risk of contracting various sexually transmitted infections, starting with HIV, and the key, experts warn, is "all-round prevention."

"Summer," Valentina Mazzotta, head of the HIV and STI (Sexually Transmitted Infections) Counseling, Testing, and Prevention Clinic at the Lazzaro Spallanzani National Institute for Infectious Diseases (IRCCS), explained to ANSA, "is a riskier time, especially for young people, who are more exposed due to travel and increased sexual encounters, even casual ones. The advice is therefore to get tested if you suspect you may have contracted a sexually transmitted infection and to use all prevention tools, from condoms to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PREP) against HIV to vaccinations such as the one against human papillomavirus. Sexual health must be a goal and not to be neglected. Young people in particular must know how to protect themselves." Among STIs, AIDS continues to be a danger that should not be underestimated. Over the years, the expert emphasizes, "there has been a general reduction in the number of HIV infections, although in the last two years there has been a resurgence. In 2023, there were 2,349 new HIV diagnoses in Italy, equal to 4 new cases per 100,000 residents, a figure that is up compared to 2022 when there were around 1,800 cases. The 30-40 age group is the most affected."

Prevention tools, however, exist, starting with PrEP, but their uptake is still limited: "Less than 30% of people with risky sexual behaviors, including the LGBTQ+ community and others, use PrEP, even though from 2023 to 2024 there was an increase of approximately 5,000 people who had at least one access to this prophylaxis." Currently, approximately 12,000 people in Italy take PrEP on an ongoing basis, but this figure will rise to 16,000 in 2024. However, the ECDC estimates that in Europe alone, at least 500,000 people would be eligible for its use. PrEP, Mazzotta explains, "is recommended for anyone with an active sexual life and occasional or multiple partners: it is, in fact, a prevention tool that should not be limited to certain population groups. It can be administered daily, but also on demand, that is, between risky sexual intercourse or during periods of exposure, and not continuously. It is important that this prevention tool is known." In the UK, it has been shown that PrEP alone has reduced new HIV infections by two and a half times. In Italy, PrEP was introduced in 2017 and, since 2023, its pill formulation has been reimbursed and can be dispensed by hospital pharmacies upon prescription from infectious disease centers. It is also available through pilot access programs, only in some centers, as intramuscular injections every two months, but this latter formulation is not reimbursed. Injectable PrEP is based on slow-release drugs, administered every two or even six months, and represents a highly innovative strategy, a valid alternative to oral PrEP for people with contraindications or intolerance to oral medications or who are unable to adhere to oral PrEP. Data show high adherence, good tolerability, and high user satisfaction with the new formulation.

With over 6,500 patients in its care, approximately 2,000 at-risk individuals receiving PrEP and over 400 receiving Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) each year, Spallanzani is a national reference center for HIV and AIDS research and treatment. According to the PRIDE study on PrEP in Italy, coordinated by Mazzotta, over 2,400 users of PrEP were enrolled between September 2024 and April 2025. The study highlighted the characteristics of current users: 98% were male at birth, 97% had a gbmsm (gay, bisexual, males who have sex with men) sexual orientation, an average age of 38, and the majority had a high level of education. Mazzotta also recently presented data from the first implementation study of PrEP with long-acting injectable drugs administered every two months in Italy, conducted through a collaboration between Spallanzani and the Luigi Sacco Hospital in Milan. The study has so far enrolled over 400 users, 97% of whom were already on oral prophylaxis, but who switched to injectable PrEP due to intolerance or insufficient adherence to oral PrEP.