‘Worrying’ annual figures put new gonorrhoea cases in gay men up 61 percent in 2011
Health Protection Agency figures released today have revealed a two percent rise in the number of new sexually transmitted infections recorded in England. Young people and men who have sex with men are at highest risk, with the rate of new gonorrhoea cases up 61 percent on 2010 among the latter.
The two percent rise in the country in 2011 puts the number of new cases of sexually transmitted infections across the population at 427,000.
The HPA said the increase, which cancels out a slight decrease on the previous year, was driven by cases of gonorrhoea, syphilis and genital herpes, new cases of which were up by 25, 10 and five percent.
Among gay and bisexual men who have sex with men, new cases of gonorrhoea were up 61 percent, with syphilis up 28 percent. The number of new chlamydia infections reported had risen by 48 percent on 2010′s figures.
The HPA said that while some increase could be attributed to people responding to calls to get tested, it was not likely to account for all of the rise in new recorded infections.
Dr Gwenda Hughes, head of STI surveillance at the HPA, said: “The 2011 data are a matter of concern regarding young heterosexuals and men who have sex with men. We anticipated some increase in diagnoses due to improvements in testing in recent years, but not on the scale seen here. These data show that too many people are putting themselves at risk of STIs and serious health problems by having unsafe sex.
Dr Hughes added: “The importance of STI prevention and good sexual health becomes even clearer given emerging resistance to gonorrhoea treatment. Laboratory testing over the last five years has shown a large increase in the amount of resistance to the main drugs used to treat gonorrhoea, presenting the very real danger of untreatable gonorrhoea in the future.”
The HPA recommended the consistent use of condoms with casual and new sexual partners. Among men who have sex with men, it recommended an HIV/STI screen at least annually, and every three months if changing partners regularly, stressing that often infections appear symptomless. Read More
