Syphilis, Gonorrhea, and Chlamydia Notifications in Galați County, Romania (2017-2025): A Retrospective Surveillance Analysis.
6 affiliations
- 1Faculty of Medicine, "Ovidius" University of Constanța, 900470 Constanța, Romania.
- 2Galați County Public Health Directorate (Direcția de Sănătate Publică Galați), 800010 Galați, Romania.
- 3Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Research Centre in the Medical-Pharmaceutical Field, "Dunarea de Jos" University of Galați, 800008 Galați, Romania.
- 4Multidisciplinary Integrated Centre of Dermatological Interface Research (MICDIR), "Dunarea de Jos" University of Galați, 800385 Galați, Romania.
- 5Department of Dermatology, "Saint Parascheva" Infectious Disease Clinical Hospital, 800179 Galați, Romania.
- 6Clinical Medical Department, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, "Dunarea de Jos" University of Galați, 800385 Galați, Romania.
Abstract
Background/objectives
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are resurgent globally, yet sub-national epidemiological data from Romania remain sparse. This study characterizes long-term STI trends in Galați County (population ~500,000) and examines whether observed morbidity patterns reflect transmission dynamics or surveillance system performance.Methods
Retrospective analysis of all notified STI cases in Galați County, 2017-2025 (nine years; n = 253), from the County Public Health Directorate surveillance database. Data included demographics, clinical stage, detection route, and temporal trends. Quasi-Poisson regression with a population offset estimated the annual change in notification rates; standardized morbidity ratios (SMR) compared local to national levels (2021-2024).Results
Over nine years, 253 cases were notified: 204 syphilis (80.6%), 49 gonorrhea (19.4%), and no chlamydia. Notification rates declined across 2017-2025 (rate ratio per year = 0.87; 95% CI 0.78-0.97; p = 0.014), reached a trough in 2020 and recovered partially thereafter, a pattern that may reflect variation in case detection, although testing volumes were not available to confirm this. Over 2021-2024, syphilis notification rates exceeded national levels in both males (SMR = 2.35; 95% CI 1.79-3.03; p < 0.0001) and females (SMR = 1.76; 95% CI 1.15-2.57; p = 0.011). Primary-stage disease was recorded in 13 of 204 syphilis cases (6.4%); antenatal screening identified 32 maternal infections over nine years with zero congenital syphilis notifications.Conclusions
The notification pattern is compatible with an important role of case detection, in particular the contrast between structured antenatal screening and opportunistic detection pathways, but testing and outcome data are needed to confirm this interpretation.
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BibTeX
@article{state2026syphilis,
title = {{Syphilis, Gonorrhea, and Chlamydia Notifications in Galați County, Romania (2017-2025): A Retrospective Surveillance Analysis.}},
author = {Ionelia State and Laura Cristescu-Budală and Rares-Nicolae Vadana and Alin-Laurentiu Tatu and Laurentiu-Tony Hangan and Simona-Dana Mitincu-Caramfil},
journal = {Diseases (Basel, Switzerland)},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/diseases14100373},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42930000},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Syphilis, Gonorrhea, and Chlamydia Notifications in Galați County, Romania (2017-2025): A Retrospective Surveillance Analysis.
AU - Ionelia State
AU - Laura Cristescu-Budală
AU - Rares-Nicolae Vadana
AU - Alin-Laurentiu Tatu
AU - Laurentiu-Tony Hangan
AU - Simona-Dana Mitincu-Caramfil
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/11
JO - Diseases (Basel, Switzerland)
DO - 10.3390/diseases14100373
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42930000
AB - Background/objectives Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are resurgent globally, yet sub-national epidemiological data from Romania remain sparse. This study characterizes long-term STI trends in Galați County (population ~500,000) and examines whether observed morbidity patterns reflect transmission dynamics or surveillance system performance.Methods Retrospective analysis of all notified STI cases in Galați County, 2017-2025 (nine years; n = 253), from the County Public Health Directorate surveillance database. Data included demographics, clinical stage, detection route, and temporal trends. Quasi-Poisson regression with a population offset estimated the annual change in notification rates; standardized morbidity ratios (SMR) compared local to national levels (2021-2024).Results Over nine years, 253 cases were notified: 204 syphilis (80.6%), 49 gonorrhea (19.4%), and no chlamydia. Notification rates declined across 2017-2025 (rate ratio per year = 0.87; 95% CI 0.78-0.97; p = 0.014), reached a trough in 2020 and recovered partially thereafter, a pattern that may reflect variation in case detection, although testing volumes were not available to confirm this. Over 2021-2024, syphilis notification rates exceeded national levels in both males (SMR = 2.35; 95% CI 1.79-3.03; p < 0.0001) and females (SMR = 1.76; 95% CI 1.15-2.57; p = 0.011). Primary-stage disease was recorded in 13 of 204 syphilis cases (6.4%); antenatal screening identified 32 maternal infections over nine years with zero congenital syphilis notifications.Conclusions The notification pattern is compatible with an important role of case detection, in particular the contrast between structured antenatal screening and opportunistic detection pathways, but testing and outcome data are needed to confirm this interpretation.
SN - 2079-9721
ER -