Shock climb in STD cases

THE Glitter Strip’s party town culture is a high risk factor for Gold Coasters contracting an aggressive and rare strain of chlamydia which causes plague-like lumps, according to health experts.

Three cases of lymphogranuloma venereum were seen on the Gold Coast last year – the first recorded in five years.

The cases came amid an upsurge in sexually transmitted infections in the last five years, with Gold Coast Health figures showing chlamydia has risen by 1259 cases, syphilis by 87 and gonorrhoea by a disturbing 335.

Dr Sonu Haikerwal from the Gold Coast Medical Association said she was not surprised by the figures.

“To get a sexually transmitted disease we foot soldiers look at the lifestyle of the person and many of the lifestyles of those getting these diseases are a cocktail of alcohol, drugs and magic medical fixes like over-the-counter contraception,” Dr Haikerwal said.

“The message is just not getting through. Even though we have sexual education in schools there is a lot of conversations we need to be having about drugs and alcohol.

“If you’re on drugs or taking alcohol are you really worrying about how sexually protected you are?”

Dr Haikerwal said she couldn’t pinpoint why there was such big increases in STD cases but said living in a party town was more than likely a major factor.

“We always see peaks in certain periods like schoolies and music festivals,” Dr Haikerwal said. “Young people seem to be driven to take drugs and alcohol. I would presume that because we are a party town we are going to be at the forefront of these diseases.”

Dr Haikerwal said STDs can have dangerous long-term effects on health.

“The increase in statistics is just a peek into the big picture,” she said. “We can’t just distribute condoms anymore.”