Media mentions: Sexually transmitted disease study

Prof Christopher Fairley

Melbourne Sexual Health Centre research reporting that gonorrhoea and syphilis cases are on the rise again in Melbourne have appeared in several media outlets over the summer break.

The centre's study described trends in sexually transmitted infection over nearly a century of data from 1918 to 2016.

Researchers speculated that casual sex through online dating, and reduced fear of HIV, could be factors behind the recent trend.

Some of the reports:

• http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-01-16/gonorrhoea-and-syphilis-on-the-rise-in-melbourne/9332636
• http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/back-to-the-80s-gonorrhoea-and-syphilis-are-resurging-in-melbourne-20180115-h0ih75.html
• http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/relationships/sex/gonorrhoea-and-syphilis-on-the-rise-in-melbourne/news-story/8592eb6436e2773a94a32067525ecdb1

Reference:

Emile Jasek, Eric PF Chow, Jason J Ong, Catriona S Bradshaw, Marcus Y Chen, Jane S Hocking, David Lee, Tiffany Phillips, Meredith Temple-Smith, Glenda Fehler, Christopher K Fairley. Sexually Transmitted Infections inMelbourne, Australia from 1918 to 2016: nearly a century of data. Communicable Diseases Intelligence Volume 41 Number 3 - September 2017