Taboo break: Special exhibition on venereal diseases in Vienna!

Taboo break: Special exhibition on venereal diseases in Vienna!

An exciting special show in the Natural History Museum (NHM) Vienna is devoted to an often taboo topic: STDs. In the historic foolish tower, the exhibition entitled "Safe Sex" runs and has decided to promote education and dutation. This initiative should not only raise awareness of sexually transmitted diseases (STIS), but also stimulate an open dialogue, especially for school classes. As [meinzirk.at] (https://www.meinbezirk.at/wien/c-freizeit/sonderschau-widmet-sich-sich-sich-sich-siche-siche-siche-siche-sicht diseases_a7360231?ref=curate), this special show is an important step to take the topic of venereal diseases into society and to free it from its dusty image.

The history of the StIS is fascinating and tragic at the same time. They have been present since humanity, regardless of origin or social status. Famous personalities such as Chopin, Napoleon and Nietzsche suffered from syphilis, one of the oldest and best known sexually transmitted infections. Thanks to the discovery of antibiotics in the 20th century, the treatment of such diseases has revolutionized. But today an alarming increase in Europe is observed. The numbers speak for themselves: According to the ECDC, the cases of gonorrhea have tripled since 2014, but syphilis has doubled. As part of the exhibition, the current developments in research are also discussed, in particular on the challenges that the drug resistance brings.

Current developments and social perception

The WHO estimates that around one million new StIs cases in Europe are diagnosed every day. These figures make it clear that rampant infections such as syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, hepatitis and HIV are considered to be the "big five" among venereal diseases due to their high distribution. It is particularly worrying that many of these infections are asymptomatic, which means that many affected people do not even know that they are infected. [The WHO] (https://www.who.int/news-grooom/fact-sheets/detail/sexually-transmitted-infections- (StIS)) reports that the numbers are increasing in particular in young adults and pregnant women-in 2022, for example, 1.1 million pregnant women with syphilis were infected, which lead to massive complications can.

This special show also gets to the bottom of social taboos. One of the central messages of the exhibition is that everyone can get in touch with STIS in the course of their life. Some of them are uncomfortable, but basically harmless, while other diseases can be life -threatening. Early detection and treatment are particularly important here, even if there is no remedy for all STIS. As explained the Federal Ministry of Health, the symptoms vary from unusual discharge to pain to general disease symptoms. However, there are often no obvious symptoms, which emphasizes the need for regular tests.

Another important topic in the exhibition is the progress in prevention, such as vaccinations against hepatitis B and humane papillomavirus (HPV). These vaccines are already available in over 140 countries and could help to contain the common infections significantly. Nevertheless, drug resistance remains a growing problem that makes the treatment of STIs increasingly complex. We have to face the challenge and work together on solutions to prevent the spread of these diseases and to protect the health of future generations.

The special show "Safe Sex" in the NHM Vienna is an impressive example of how important education and discourse are in today's world. With a clear focus on the history, distribution and social perception of venereal diseases, the exhibition prepares the soil for a necessary dialogue and calls on everyone to speak openly about these topics.