Australia Hits An All-Time High With Cases Of Syphilis
An Annual Surveillance Report by the Kirby Institute in the University of New South Wales found a 34 percent increase in the number of people diagnosed with syphilis. It showed that more than 1,700 people were affected with the deadly bacterial virus.
According to SBS.com, between 2009 and 2013, unprotected sex between men is the reason for the diagnosis of syphilis reaching new heights. Unsafe sexual practises is being touted as a major concern, said Colin Batrouney from the Victorian Aids Council.
Colin Batrouney, Manager of Health Promotion at the Victorian Aids Council for Gay Mens Health, said that they were seeing an increase in unprotected anal intercourse with casual partners that means that people were not using condoms during casual hook-ups. He added that in 2014, 36 percent of the men accounted for it.
He spoke about solutions that could be put into place to prevent the rise in infections. He said that it needed to be two-fold and that safe sex message should be pushed more into the people. He added that the importance of regular sexual health testing as well as understanding symptoms of syphilis should be informed to the people.
One of the authors of the report, Associate Professor David Wilson, said that though syphilis was less common in Australia, it is definitely concerning to see the rise in number of people affected by the sexually transmitted disease. He continued that there was a disconnection between sex lives of the young and what they were taught in school and that condom use was seeing a decrease.
The report also found that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations were at a higher risk of contracting a sexually transmitted infection. This was not a new occurrence, said Jason Agostino who belongs to the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation and is a general physician at Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health Service.
He continued that they were trying to increase the number of young adults who were tested for sexually transmitted diseases. He believes that picking it up early and can help treat it, prevent its spread as well as prevent further complications for the patient.