HSE issues warning amid rise in gonorrhoea cases

THE HSE’S Department of Public Health in the south east has highlighted a recent increase in cases of gonorrhoea and offering advice on how to prevent infection.

The number of gonorrhoea cases notified from counties Wexford, Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford and South Tipperary in 2016 was 97 compared to a figure of 63 recorded for 2015.

The increase has been in men and women and more than half the cases were under the age of 25 years.

Gonorrhoea is a sexually transmited infection ( STI) caused by the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae. It can be transmitted during unprotected sex with an infected person.

Symptoms may be mild or absent in up to half of infected women and 10% of infected men. Even if a person has no symptoms they can still transmit the infection to a sexual partner.

‘ In women, if gonorrhoea is not treated it can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease which can cause permanent damage to the reproductive sytem and lead to ectopic pregnancy, chronic pelvic pain or infertility’, said Dr. Sarah Doyle, Consultant in Public Health Medicine with the HSE in the south east.

‘ In men, untreated gonorrhoea infection can cause epididymitis, an inflammation of the male reproductive tubes. In rare cases, untreated gonorrhoea can spread t the blood or the joings and can be life threatening’, said Dr. Doyle.

Gonorrhoea can be treated with antibiotics. Early treatment is required to prevent complications and spread to others. It can be diagnosed from a urine sample or a swab taken from the affected area.

Testing can be done by GP’s, at STI or Genito- Urinary Medicine clinics and also by student health services and family planning clinics.

Dr. Doyle said that regular testing is recommended for individuals who are sexually active and have risk factors for gonorrhoea which include multiple partners and unprotected sex with new partners.

The HSE is urging people who are at risk of infection, ie those who have had unprotected sexual contact to seek testing. Appointments at the Sexually Transmitted Infection ( STI) Clinic in University Hospital Waterford are free of charge.

Gonorrhoea leaflets and posters are available at https://www. healthpromotion. ie/publication and http://www. man2man. ie/gon. html.