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Incidence of adult inclusion keratoconjunctivitis, gonococcal keratoconjunctivitis and mpox-related ophthalmic disorders in Spain. Evolution of the last 7 years.

Eye volume 39, pages 2615–2617 (2025)Cite this article

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Sexually transmitted infections (STI) have increased substantially in Western countries, potentially driving a concurrent rise in cases of sexually transmitted ocular infections in adults, including inclusion keratoconjunctivitis (IKC) caused by Chlamydia trachomatis (CT), gonococcal keratoconjunctivitis (GKC) due to Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG), and mpox-related ocular disease (MROD) [1,2,3]. These conditions can result in severe visual morbidity, even vision loss [2, 3], highlighting the importance of understanding their epidemiological trends. Here, we present the first population-based assessment of ocular STI incidence in Spain, identifying emerging patterns indicative of an underestimated and rising clinical burden.

We performed a retrospective, population-based study using data from Spain’s National Epidemiological Surveillance Network (RENAVE), covering CT and NG infections from 2017 to 2023 and mpox from 2022 to 2024. RENAVE gathers mandatory notifications of these infections, recording demographic details and clinical manifestations. Ocular involvement was strictly defined as laboratory-confirmed cases: positive conjunctival swabs for IKC/GKC, and documented corneal complications for mpox cases.

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Data availability

All data generated or analysed during this study are included in this published article. Additional information is available upon reasonable request from the corresponding author.

References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ophthalmology Department, Ciudad Real General University Hospital, Ciudad Real, Spain

    Carlos Campo-Beamud, Esther Campo-Beamud, Andrea Donate Rosa, Iria López Mesa & Alfredo Fernández Ruíz

  2. National Epidemiology Centre, CIBER of Infectious Diseases (CIBERINFEC), Carlos III Health Institute, Madrid, Spain

    Victoria Hernando Sebastian

  3. Translational Research Unit, University General Hospital of Ciudad Real, Servicio de Salud de Castilla-La Mancha, Ciudad Real, Spain

    Francisco Javier Gómez-Romero

  4. Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Biomedicine, Ciudad Real, Spain

    Francisco Javier Gómez-Romero

  5. Ophthalmology Department, Albacete University Hospital Complex, Albacete, Spain

    Sergio Copete

Authors
  1. Carlos Campo-Beamud
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  2. Victoria Hernando Sebastian
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  3. Esther Campo-Beamud
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  4. Francisco Javier Gómez-Romero
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  5. Andrea Donate Rosa
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  6. Iria López Mesa
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  7. Alfredo Fernández Ruíz
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  8. Sergio Copete
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Contributions

CCB was responsible for writing the article, conducting the research, selecting potentially eligible studies, extracting and analysing data, interpreting results, and updating reference lists. VHS was responsible for designing the data inclusion protocol and selecting potentially eligible studies. Contributed to report writing, data extraction and analysis, interpretation of results and creation of results tables. ECB contributed to report writing, literature search and interpretation of results. FJGR carried out the data analysis. ADR contributed to report writing and error correction. ILM, AFR, and SC provided critical comments on the report. SC also served as the study’s research director.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Carlos Campo-Beamud.

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Campo-Beamud, C., Hernando Sebastian, V., Campo-Beamud, E. et al. Incidence of adult inclusion keratoconjunctivitis, gonococcal keratoconjunctivitis and mpox-related ophthalmic disorders in Spain. Evolution of the last 7 years.. Eye 39, 2615–2617 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41433-025-03938-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41433-025-03938-4

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