[Status and future of sexually transmitted diseases in Japan].

According to the results of the fixed-point survey, the incidence of both genital chlamydial infection and gonococcal infection has tended to decrease since 2003 in Japan. This trend has been more marked in young persons of both sexes. However, it has been suggested that the fixed-point survey has a problem with respect to the method of selecting designated medical institutions for notification. Moreover, it should be remembered that there are many patients without symptoms in addition to patients with symptomatic sexually transmitted diseases. We performed a group study of patients with asymptomatic sexually transmitted diseases over 3 years. As a result, it was confirmed that the prevalence of asymptomatic genital chlamydial infection was highest among female high school students aged 16-18 years, and was approximately 5% even among healthy men in their twenties. Based on these results, to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases in the young, it seems necessary to perform large-scale screening for these diseases(especially in young persons) and establish a system that allows the results of screening to ensure early detection and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases.