Media release from Waikato District Health Board

Waikato sexual health physician Jane Morgan has identified youth access to alcohol and excessive drinking as a contributing factor to high rates of Chlamydia transmission in New Zealand.

Dr Morgan submitted a report to the Health Waikato Advisory Committee today about a project she is leading for the Ministry of Health which aims to improve management of Chlamydia within the Waikato DHB region, and ultimately inform national strategy.

Chlamydia is a serious sexually transmissible infection (STI) that often goes unnoticed.  

Of the under-25-year-olds tested for Chlamydia in the Waikato between February 2008 and January 2010, 16 per cent tested positive and more than one in five young Maori women were positive compared to one in nine non-Maori.

Around 70 per cent of people will not experience any symptoms or know they have Chlamydia, which means they could transmit the infection for months without realising it.

If left untreated, Chlamydia can affect both women's and men's reproductive health, leading to difficulties in falling pregnant, ectopic pregnancies and pelvic inflammatory disease in women, as well as infertility in both men and women.

More than one in seven under-25-year-old women in this region who had a Chlamydia test last year tested positive. Estimates are that one in 10 young people are infected.

The Waikato DHB Chlamydia project aims to increase testing and treatment for Chlamydia for under-25-year-olds, who have the highest reported rates of Chlamydia in New Zealand as well as internationally.

"The project found very high rates of testing and high rates of detection of infection amongst young women," said Dr Morgan.

"This helps explain why New Zealand reports more infections than most other developed countries, where testing rates are considerably lower. However, very few men are tested.

"Unfortunately men tend not to visit a GP as often as women. Statistics show they are likely to be carrying an infection and not realise it, which means they may be unknowingly infecting other people.

"If people don't use a condom, or have many sexual partners, the risk of getting a sexually transmitted infection increases significantly. The message for young people is, if you have unprotected sex, you could have Chlamydia.

"The test for Chlamydia is simple and the treatment is even easier, consisting of a single dose of tablets. We would strongly encourage young men in particular to go to their GP and have the simple urine test."

The project also found there are challenges in reaching the sexual partners of those with Chlamydia.

"We need to urge patients with Chlamydia to ensure their partners are tested and treated. Otherwise, they will simply re-infect each other," said Dr Morgan.

"Unfortunately, excessive drinking means people are sometimes not sure who they've had sex with."

She said treating partners is another way of reaching those likely to be infected, but who may not realise it and so is one of the recommendations made to primary care in the report.

The recommendations include:

• further research into effective partner management strategies in New Zealand
• further research into innovative ways to engage young men with health care services
• maintain and expand free sexual health and reproductive health care, particularly for those aged under 25
• ongoing education to maintain the emphasis on targeted testing

The full report is available online at http://www.waikatodhb.govt.nz/file/fileid/21077