Australia,
I've got the results of your STI check.
You're going to want to sit down for this.
It's my job to know as much as I can about what all
Australians are getting up to in the bedroom.
Well, not all the details.
I'm mostly concerned what infections we're passing on to
each other and what we can do to prevent this spread.
I'm Dr Skye McGregor.
As an epidemiologist who focuses
national surveillance of sexually
transmissible infections
or STIs and blood borne viruses.
So, things like chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis and HIV.
Who better to bring you up to speed with Australia STIs
and what we can do about them in under 10 minutes than me?
Firstly, you don't need to worry.
There aren't epidemiologists like me looking outside your
bedroom window with a set of binoculars collecting data.
We do get our information through what's
called public health surveillance though.
The word surveillance often conjures fear
and images of cameras tracking our every move.
But—
when it comes to public health,
surveillance is a word that
should conjure feelings of community and understanding.
Surveillance, like the type I do
on Australia's sexual health,
uses anonymous data from large numbers of people.
Certain infections and diseases in Australia
are notifiable,
that is,
when someone goes to a health care practitioner,
gets an STI test and is diagnosed.
Some information is reported back to health departments.
We call these cases that are tested,
diagnosed and reported, notifications.
We don't focus on individuals,
but rather population level trends.
And we use this information for good
to inform strategies to improve community health.
So, Australia.
Let's have a look at STI trends
in your population in recent years.
Sexually transmissible infections in Australia
have been on the rise for some time,
even though in 2020, we saw a slight decrease
during the COVID 19 pandemic.
Despite a 16% decrease on 2019,
Chlamydia remained the most common STI in 2020,
with over 90,000 notifications.
In fact, an estimated almost 1 in 20
young people had chlamydia in 2020.
It's important to note that in addition to notified cases,
there are people in the community who don't get
an STI test and therefore aren't diagnosed.
So, for the 1 in 20 young people with chlamydia,
only 30% were actually tested and knew they had chlamydia.
You can see how important STI testing is.
Gonorrhea was the second most common STI
with more than 29,000
notifications in 2020.
Infectious syphilis was less common
with around 5,000 cases,
but it can cause significant negative health impacts
and in general has increased considerably in recent years.
So, while the number of notifications of chlamydia,
gonorrhea and syphilis decreased in 2020,
it's really important to note that untreated,
all these infections can lead to serious complications.
So, why do we think STI has decreased in 2020
after years of increases?
One,
lockdowns, meant people were socialising less
and having less sex,
particularly sex with casual partners.
Presumably, this means less transmission of STIs.
Two,
health service access changed.
With the availability of telehealth
and restrictions on accessing care
if showing any signs of COVID 19,
this means less people sought face to face care,
and we know testing declined.
In 2020,
the number of people getting a chlamydia
or gonorrhea test declined by 11% in Australia.
Three,
travel pretty much came to a halt.
This means less movement of cases of STIs
in and out of and around Australia.
So, the pandemic has likely had a mixed impact.
It has led to reductions in the number of
cases that have been detected nationally.
However, it's also led to reductions in testing.
The decreases we did see weren't
necessarily experienced equally though.
For example,
gonorrhea didn't decrease in remote areas
or among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
This may relate to differences in COVID
restrictions across Australia in 2020.
So, Australia,
in some settings you've been testing
positive more often for some STIs and some,
you've either had fewer cases of
or you just haven't been getting tested
for them as much.
Like I said —
it's complicated.
So, what do we do with a complex
STI report card like this?
Well,
we can't assume that just because cases have decreased,
they're no longer a problem.
We need to sustain and enhance access to
appropriate prevention and treatment
to ensure all populations
can access the care they need to stay healthy.
The other thing we can do to improve Australia's chances
of eliminating STIs
is normalize sexual health.
So, if you're lucky enough to be getting lucky
now that COVID restrictions have eased,
there are some things you can do.
Use condoms.
Talk to sexual partners about sexual health
and get tested for STIs and blood borne viruses.
Yes, Australia,
I mean, all of them.
It's free.
It's easy.
And it's pretty pain free.
Pee in a jar,
or give a quick blood sample.
There's no shame in having an STI or blood borne virus.
So, let's have open discussions about it
to make sex, not just fun,
but safe.
The best part is then you can get back amongst it,
reassured that you're engaging in safe sex with
with whoever
consensually takes your fancy.
And remember —
I'll be watching.
Not really, but I will be looking at the data
to help fight the good fight against STIs.