16 July 2010
Often dubbed a "silent disease" because of the difficulty of detection without professional help, Chlamydia continues to be the Northern Territory's most common sexually transmitted infection.According to the latest Surveillance Update from the Northern Territory Sexual Health and Blood Borne Viruses Unit, Chlamydia rates have continued to grow steadily in both males and females over the past six months, with new notifications exceeding all other STIs tracked for the report.
Figures also show high infection rates in the non-Aboriginal population, reflecting a national trend of increasing Chlamydia notifications across Australia, the Head of the DHF Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Program, Jamie Broadfoot, said.
"The message here is pretty straightforward - people are contracting Chlamydia at an increasing rate," he said. "Practising safe sex is always important but the specific issue here is that Territorians may be carriers without showing any symptoms. Often they will not realise they have the infection.
"They could be unknowingly passing on Chlamydia to their partners."
Mr Broadfoot said Chlamydia left untreated had potential serious, long-term consequences for both men and women, such as infertility.
"Yet it is one of the easiest STIs to cure and can be detected through a routine test by a GP or health professional," he said. "I would urge anyone who has engaged in unsafe sex to talk to their doctor, or visit the Department's Clinic 34 for a free and confidential health check."
The Surveillance Update is issued every six months and contains quarterly statistics for notifiable sexually transmitted infections and blood-borne viruses in the NT. The latest report contains figures from July to September and October to December, 2009.
Further key points from this edition include:
- A slowing of the decreasing rate for Gonorrhoea reflected in 2005-2008 figures. Compared with the national rate the NT remains about 20 times higher;
- There appears to be a decreasing trend in the annual notification rate of Syphilis. 46 per cent lower than the 2008 figures;
- There has been a 20 per cent decrease in notifications of Trichomoniasis over the past year;
There were nine new notifications of HIV, three of which were contracted while travelling in high-prevalence countries in South East Asia. There were a total of 19 HIV notifications for the year.
The Surveillance Update can be found at: http://www.health.nt.gov.au/Centre_for_Disease_Control/Publications/Sexual_Health_Surveillance_Updates/index.aspx
Media inquiries: Dale Webster 0401 116 203
