At least 5,200 people aged between 15 and 24 were diagnosed with either chlamydia, gonorrhea or genital herpes last year, representing a significant 11 per cent increase compared to 2016. The Health Protection Surveillance Centre’s (HPSC) provisional records show the most commonly diagnosed sexually transmitted disease among young people last year was chlamydia (3,730), followed by gonorrhea (872) and genital herpes (598). Dr. Dominic Rowley, a consultant in sexual health and HIV at the GUIDe clinic, St. James’s Hospital, said that all sexually transmitted infections are on the rise in Ireland.  While there is currently an outbreak of gonorrhea both in Ireland and worldwide, with 78 million people infected every year, he said the number of Irish people diagnosed with HIV has also increased by an alarming amount with a rise of between 35-50% since last year.

“Despite this, there has been very little discussion around the issue, or calls to increase the funding for treatment. This could be due in part to the stigma that still surrounds the issue of STIs. If the proper precautions are not taken, and if you don’t seek treatment after risky behaviour, the consequences can be serious. Chlamydia and gonorrhoea can cause infertility if left untreated and diseases like HPV can lead to painful genital warts that can be slow to cure.”

Union of Students in Ireland (USI) has joined with the Health Service Executive (HSE) to launch a campaign called ‘Shag’- in college campuses this week. The HSE ’s “Johnny’s Got You Covered” campaign team will be distributing condoms and lubricant to students this week at IT Carlow, Waterford IT, NUI Maynooth University and Queen’s University Belfast.