This is very unsexy. Alarming figures released today in the Medical Journal of Australia reveal that while infection rates of gonorrhea stayed relatively stable in the decade leading up to 2009, in the last three years, infection rates in Sydney have risen (and continue to rise) dramatically, with anorectal infections going up 80% in three years and gonorrhea throat infections (oh God how I wish that wasn’t a thing) going up an unprecedented 400%. 90 per cent of sufferers are men.
Professor Mark Ferson of the South Eastern Sydney Local Health District has told ABC Radio’s The World Today programme that “The increase in gonorrhea is undoubtedly a result of unprotected sex. The fact that people feel that oral sex, for instance, is not so much a risk… for sexually transmissible diseases mean that people might ignore the messages about using protective barriers even for oral sex.”
The symptoms list for gonorrhoea is full of really awful words like discharge, burning, abdominal pain, and difficult or painful intercourse, so that shit is best avoided by anyone who is fond of having a healthy set of nether regions. Additionally, while gonorrhea ain’t exactly a picnic, it can also point to other more serious STIs, such as HIV, being passed on.
So, Sydneysiders, remember to have heaps and heaps of sex, but for the sake of your health, please do it safely. No glove, no love, people.
Via ABC Radio
