Townsville Sexual Health Clinic: Gonorrhoea, STI cases climb

A significant percentage of North Queenslanders may be blissfully unaware that they have a sexually transmitted infection or be in the firing line to contract one.

Dr Arun Menon, director at Townsville Sexual Health, said that while cases of chlamydia in the THHS region had remained “relatively stable”, it was still the most prevalent sexually transmitted infection (STI).

Provisional results from a recent screening has revealed that a significant percentage of North Queenslanders may be blissfully unaware that they have a sexually transmitted infection or be in the firing line to contract one.

The news that 31 (6.6 per cent) of 468 asymptomatic individuals in the test group aged 19 to 29 had chlamydia is the tip of the iceberg, with the Townsville Hospital and Health Service region also seeing a sharp rise in the number of cases of gonorrhoea across all age groups.

There are also warnings that more serious “diseases of intimacy” with extra-grim symptoms could also be headed toward Townsville.

Chlamydia

Dr Arun Menon, director at Townsville Sexual Health, said that while cases of chlamydia in the THHS region had remained “relatively stable”, it was still the most prevalent sexually transmitted infection (STI).

According to data from the Queensland Department of Health, there were 11 cases in the THHS area the week ending Sunday (September 9), 104 cases in the past four weeks and 1105 since the beginning of the year, just below the average year-to-date figure for the 2019-2023 period.

Dr Arun Menon, director at Townsville Sexual Health.

Dr Menon said that was not the concerning aspect, with diagnosed chlamydia cases easily treatable.

“We are more concerned about undiagnosed chlamydia as it can result in Pelvic Inflammatory Disease and infertility.”

Gonorrhoea

Dr Menon said that of concern, the THHS region had seen a spike in the number of cases of gonorrhoea, an infection spread through vaginal, oral and anal sex and other intimate contact.

Queensland Department of Health figures show that in the week ending September 9, there were eight confirmed cases, with a total of 33 cases in the past month.

Dr Menon said there had been a “steady rise” in gonorrhoea notifications in the THHS district from about September, 2022.

“Up to about then, we were seeing an average of about 20 cases a month and now we’re seeing between 40 and 50 cases a month,” he said.

“This is happening in many other places; Mackay is seeing the same increase in gonorrhoea notifications.”

According to Queensland Health, there have been a total of 401 cases in the THHS so far this year, up from the year-to-date mean average for 2019-2023 of 356.

Dr Menon said the easy answer to the question about the cause of the increase, was “we don’t know”.

“It could be a number of things: people are not using condoms; people are coming to be tested; there might be more awareness – any of those could explain the increase.”

Dr Menon said that like chlamydia, gonorrhoea could be asymptomatic and those with the infection “don’t know what they are passing on”.

“The only way to minimise spread if for A) people to use condoms properly and B) get yourself regularly tested.”

He said Townsville Sexual Health Clinic in North Ward and a satellite clinic in Kirwan offered free services, as did bulk-billing GPs as well as Townsville Aboriginal and Islanders Health Services (TAIHS).

Dr Menon said gonorrhoea was also easily treatable and “100 per cent effective” with an “injection and a few pills” and the region was yet to see any cases of non-treatable strains of the infection.

The gonorrhoea bacteria.

Syphilis

Dr Menon said gonorrhoea and chlamydia could cause more serious infections in men and women but of most concern was the increasing prevalence of infectious, late and congenital syphilis.

“Every woman who is pregnant really should be tested for syphilis, and be tested multiple times because syphilis is really terrible for babies … it is very destructive.”

He said Townsville was yet to confirm a recent positive case for a congenital (advanced) for of the STI that could be fatal to unborn children but there had been multiple cases in northwest and southeast Queensland.

There have been three recent cases in Queensland, although the most recent case in Townsville was in 2017, he said.

“We are really encouraging all pregnant women and all women considering pregnancy for syphilis.”

He said that up to about 2010, it was thought that syphilis was eradicated in Australia but there was an outbreak in northwest Queensland around the Mount Isa region.

“And it spread to every part of Australia … it has come back with a vengeance.”

Mpox

Dr Menon said another STI of concern was the virus Mpox, previously referred to as monkey pox, an “ulcerative disease in the same group of viruses as smallpox”.

“It started in Australia in 2022 out of the blue,” he said.

“There were 144 cases in 2022, 22 cases in 2023 and now in Australia, up to this week, there have been 500 cases,” he said, adding that 39 of the cases were in Queensland.

All cases to date in Australia have occurred among men who have sex with other men.

Dr Menon said that like syphilis, Mpox was contractable through sex, including to the mouth, vagina and anus, referring to it as a less stigmatising “disease of intimacy” that could also infect the eyes.

“That’s the thing that we are struggling with at the moment, we haven’t had any cases here yet in Townsville but we’ve set up systems for dealing with it, should it arrive, because it’s a nasty and stigmatising infection.”

He said the only place you could currently receive a vaccination was at Townsville Sexual Health Clinic.

Originally published as Townsville Sexual Health Clinic: Gonorrhoea, STI cases climb