Lowest rate of STIs at Hutt Valley clinics
By Australian Associated Press
Either Hutt Valley has the lowest number of sexually transmitted infections in New Zealand, or people prefer going to their doctors than sexual health clinics.
Figures from a quarterly government report on STI clinics across the country show Hutt Valley recorded only five cases of chlamydia between January and March this year, compared to 1265 nationally.
Auckland had the highest number with 365 cases.
However, according to another report by the Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR) released earlier in the week, chlamydia was the country’s most commonly reported sexually transmitted infection last year.
ESR reported the infection had an estimated national rate of 633 cases per 100,000 people.
That was down from 2012’s rate of 744 cases per 100,000, but still much higher than our Australian friends across the ditch who in 2012 recorded a rate of 335 per 100,000.
According to the Ministry of Health, the Hutt Valley district health board serves a population of 145,215 people.
But ESR’s quarterly report’s figures show that in the three months to March, there were 17 cases of STIs compared to 2367 nationally.
Auckland again had the highest with 759 cases.
The report acknowledges that its figures only reflect the number of STI cases recorded at participating clinics.
It says a substantial percentage of STIs are diagnosed by health providers such as GPs and other primary health care practitioners.
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