Syphilis has rebounded to its highest level on record in Australia, according to a report on viral hepatitis and sexually transmissible infections by the UNSW’s Kirby Institute.
The report for 2013 paints a disturbing picture of Australia’s sexual health, showing a lack of condom use and an 80% rise in gonorrhoea over the previous five years.
Researcher Associate Professor David Wilson says syphilis remains relatively uncommon, there has been a rise in men catching the disease due to an increase in condomless sex between men.
The report shows chlamydia is declining for the first time in recent history, although it remains the most common STI in Australia with 82,537 new diagnoses in 2013.
“It’s a staggering number, says Associate Professor David Wilson from the Kirby Institute. “We think that it’s the tip of the iceberg because a lot of the time chlamydia remains unrecognised. We think there is four to five times that number not diagnosed, tested and treated.”
As in previous years, the highest levels of chlamydia are among 20-24 year olds, followed by 15-19 year olds, according to the report which was released at the Australasian Viral Hepatitis Conference in Alice Springs.
Gonorrhoea is also cause for concern he says, with almost 15,000 new cases reported in 2013, up from 13,842 in 2012.
There were 1,765 people diagnosed with syphilis in the year, which is “substantially greater than what it was 15 years ago when it was virtually under control”, Dr Wilson says.
Co-author Professor John De Wit from UNSW attributes the spike in disease to “condomless sex”.
“Gay men are most affected because a higher proportion are not using condoms. Gay men do not test that regularly for STIs, so it may mean substantial delays before people get diagnosed.”
Gay men are also at higher risk for hepatitis C, he says, “because they are more likely to inject drugs and this is particularly true for HIV positive gay men who might be co-infected with HIV and Hep C”,
The Kirby report estimates the number of people dying from liver disease related to hepatitis C infection has more than doubled over the past 10 years.
The researchers estimate that 630 people died from hepatitis C liver failure and liver cancer in 2013, 160% greater than 10 years previously.
On a more positive note, cases of genital warts among women have dropped dramatically thanks to the national HPV vaccination program. The infection rate was 1% in 2013, compared with 14% in 2007.