The increase in the incidence of syphilis in the Russian Federation: foreign migrant citizens as a risk group for the spread of the disease

Abstract

Relevance. The incidence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) has a serious impact on the health and lives of children, adolescents and adults. Syphilis, like most STIs, is a socially significant disease, while among the factors influencing the spread of this infection, migration processes, including labor migration, occupy a special place.
 Aims. To study syphilis in foreign migrants in the Russian Federation and individual subjects of the state in recent years.
 Material and methods. A retrospective epidemiological analysis of the incidence of syphilis among the population of the Russian Federation and foreign migrants was performed. The data from Federal Statistical Monitoring Form No. 9 and No. 34 was used with reference to STIs incidence in 2011–2022 in Russia and in its regions.
 Results. Among foreign migrant citizens, the incidence rates were higher than the Russian average: 1.5–2.0 times before 2020, and 4 times in 2021 and 2022. The proportion of registered cases of syphilis among foreign citizens in 2021 was 36.4%, significantly exceeding this figure not only in 2020 (18.2%), but also in previous years (16.7–21.2%). An increase in the number of foreign citizens with syphilis was observed in 2021 in all federal districts of the Russian Federation, while the number of syphilis cases detected in this contingent of people varied significantly between different regions of the Russian Federation. The main share (98.1%) in the structure of syphilis detected in foreign citizens was latent forms of the disease.
 Conclusions. The high level of detection of syphilis in foreign migrant citizens and the predominance of latent forms of the disease in this population represent a potential epidemiological danger of the spread of infection. In connection with the current situation, it seems necessary to develop and implement permanent and controlled algorithms for monitoring STIs in risk groups, including foreign migrant citizens.