P240 The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the trends of Sexually transmitted infections in Belgium. Results of an STI clinic

De Baetselier, I.; Apers, L.; Platteau, T.; Wouters, K.; Buyze, J.; Florence, E.; Kenyon, C.; Van den Bossche, D.

BackgroundDue to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Belgian government imposed two semi-lockdowns (LD) with different social behavioral restrictions in 2020. Our aim was to assess the impact of these COVID-19 pandemic-response measures on Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) and Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) figures in an STI clinic (low-threshold clinic, PrEP & HIV follow-up) in Antwerp, Belgium.MethodsThe overall number of CT/NG requests and positivity ratio during 2020 was compared with 2019. In addition, different periods of 2019 and 2020 were compared using mixed-effects logistic regression methods. 1. pre-lockdown (01/01–17/03, no restrictions), 2. LD1 (18/03–10/05, no social contact outside the household, only ‘urgent’ consultations), 3. after LD1 (11/05–01/11, varying between 2–10 additional social contacts) and 4. LD2 (02/11–31/12, maximum two social contacts).ResultsOverall, the number of CT/NG requests decreased by 27.7% (7170 in 2019 to 5183 in 2020). Whilst the number of patient contacts declined by 22.4%, positivity rate of CT (8.0% in 2019;7.8% in 2020) and NG (4.7% vs 5.5%) remained similar in both years. During LD1, a significant reduction in CT/NG requests was noted (decrease of 88.1%) and the number of consultations dropped by 60.1%. Whereas the positivity ratio of NG during period LD1 increased from 5.3% in 2019 to 9.3% in 2020, no significant change was found for CT (8.2% in 2019 to 7.8% in 2020). During the other time periods, the absolute number of requests and CT/NG infections in 2020 were comparable with 2019. Nevertheless, higher positivity ratios were found during LD2 period 2020 compared to 2019 (CT: 9.9% vs 8.2% in 2019;NG: 6.1 vs 5.1% in 2019, p>0.05).ConclusionDespite a sharp drop in consultations, the proportion of CT/NG did not decrease in 2020 compared to 2019. We observed a trend towards higher positive CT/NG rates in LD2 which may depict social distancing fatigue.