This article is from page 10 of the 2006-12-19 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 10 JPG
THERE has been a dramatic increase in the number of cases of Chlamydia, gonorrhoea, and syphilis in the western region, including Co Clare.
Overall figures for HSE West however – an area that encompasses the old Western, Mid-Western and North-western regions – saw a reduction in the number of STIs reported last year, down 16.4 per cent to 2,721. Drops were reported in ano-genital warts down 18 per cent to 1,040, non-specific urethritis down 46.7 per cent to 626 and herpes down 7 per cent to 91.
While the overall number of STIs may have decreased health experts believe that the observed decline could be masking an underlying trend that continues to rise.
There has been a dramatic increase in reported Chlamydia up more than 30 per cent to 817; gonorrhoea was up 34.2 per cent to 51 and syphilis up 85 per cent to 37.
These figures could be the tip of the iceberg however.
Brian Neeson, Health Promotion Functional Manager with the Health Service Executive said, “The figures around a disease like Chlamydia can be misleading because many cases go undetected – about 70 per cent of women and 50 per cent of men will show no symptoms of Chlamydia – and the same is true of gonorrhoea (up to 86 per cent of women and 55 per cent of men are asymptomatic. We cannot be certain how many undetected cases there are so we would ask people to have a check up with their GP or in a STI clinic if they are sexually active.”
Mr Nelson advices that a condom is the best protection and encourages people “to carry condoms as sex is unplanned on many occasions”.
Research into the attitude of people in Ireland towards sex uncovered a clear trend of decreasing condom use across all age groups.
In 18 to 24 year olds the most common reason cited for non-use of a condom was alcohol or drug use (20%), while 18 per cent claimed no contraception was available, 16 per cent said sex was unplanned and 15 per cent did not consider it.
Provisional figures from the HSE also show that slightly more than eight out of ten STIs reported are found in people aged between 20 and 39. The majority of reported STIs – 63.6 per cent – are found in the 20-29-age bracket.