Better education can slow rate of sexual diseases

By MONIQUE DEVEREUX

More education and accessible sexual health services are needed before Auckland's escalating gonorrhoea rate will start to improve, a sexual health adviser says.

Gonorrhoea cases have increased 10 per cent in Auckland over the past year, a continuing trend over the past four years.

Last year 669 cases were reported, and there have already been 71 cases in January this year. Since 1997, when there were 308 reported cases, the incidence has increased 117 per cent.

In Waikato and the Bay of Plenty the rate has dropped over the past six months, although the number of reported chlamydia cases have risen.

However this may be attributed to more sensitive DNA tests rather than an increase in the number of actual cases.

Gonorrhoea and chlamydia are the most common sexually transmitted diseases. They often have no obvious symptoms, but both can lead to infertility if not treated.

Dr Rick Franklin from Auckland Sexual Health says the answer is not as simple as telling people to use condoms.

"We know people have unprotected sex and are continuing to do so. It has to be a change in attitude, probably at a younger age."

Statistics from the Environmental and Scientific Research show the most common age group to have gonorrhoea are women aged between 15 and 19. Two thirds of the cases were in people under 25. Eight were in children under 15 and two were in babies under 12 months.

Dr Franklin says this is not necessarily an indication of more sexual abuse of children, but a reflection of the increase in gonorrhoea cases in adults.

He is part of a Ministry of Health sector reference group, appointed last year, that is developing a sexual and reproductive health strategy.

The group has met once but Dr Franklin says the scope of the proposed strategy is too wide.

He said there needs to be "more effort" from the Health Ministry, and more resources made available to educate the public.