STI’s Surge in Australia, Concerns for Health and Infant Mortality: Report

HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection globally. Naeblys/Shutterstock

Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) diagnoses have spiked in Australia, leading to a “concerning” health crisis and infant death, according to a new report.  

Syphilis cases have more than tripled (up 351 percent) and gonorrhea cases have doubled (up 120 percent) in the last decade. 

At the same time, the number of diagnosed females with syphilis has surged sixfold (569 percent).

Epidemiologist and report leader Skye McGregor said the increase in syphilis among women is worrying because if left untreated during pregnancy, it can potentially result in miscarriage, stillbirth, or congenital syphilis, where the infection is passed to unborn children.

“Congenital syphilis is an extremely serious condition for infants that can result in significant lifelong health impacts, and in the most severe cases can be fatal,” she said, noting 18 of 69 cases of congenital syphilis resulted in an infant’s death in the last seven years.

“With timely screening, syphilis can be cured, so even one case of congenital syphilis is completely avoidable and unacceptable.”

Meanwhile, chlamydia cases have also increased (up 12 percent) in the last decade.

Chlamydia was the most common STI in Australia in 2022, with over two-thirds of cases found in people aged 15 to 29. 

“We estimate that one in 27 young females in Australia had chlamydia at some point in 2022, with less than half being diagnosed. That equates to over 91,000 young women,” Ms. McGregor said. 

Most chlamydia cases go undiagnosed and untreated, highlighting the need for more testing, according to the report. 

If untreated, it can lead to serious long-term health problems, including pelvic inflammatory disease in women and infertility in both men and women.

Therefore, Ms. McGregor urged people to consider testing every three to twelve months.

“It’s also advised to get a blood test for syphilis and HIV at the same time,” she said. 

Meanwhile, the majority of syphilis cases (82 percent in 2022) still happen in men. 

Similarly, most Gonorrhoea diagnoses (71 percent) are among males. 

Nationally, 82 percent of syphilis diagnoses are also in men, but this proportion varies by state and territory. 

STI infections have been on the rise, mainly in gay and bisexual men, in recent years.

University of New South Wales (UNSW) HIV Epidemiology Head Andrew Grulich said the rise is due to more widespread screening, a decrease in condom use, and increased sexual mixing.

“But we know how effective health promotion can be in this community, as we have seen with the huge reductions in HIV. We need to carry over these learnings to STIs to drive down infections in this group,” he noted.

The UNSW Kirby Insitute Annual Surveillance Report, published yearly since 1997, thoroughly analyses HIV, viral hepatitis, and sexually transmitted infections in Australia.

STI Rates High Among Aboriginal Communities

Meanwhile, STI rates remain much higher among the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. 

“Congenital syphilis diagnoses are 14 times as high among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander infants compared with non-Indigenous infants,” Ms. McGregor said. 

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Manager Robert Monaghan added well-targeted and funded health interventions effectively prevent STIs in Indigenous communities.

“For instance, HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccination has been hugely successful, with no diagnoses of genital warts in 2022 among young Aboriginal men aged under 21 years,” he said. 

Australia’s Success: Significant Progress in HPV Vaccination 

Australia has achieved substantial success in reducing genital warts through the HPV vaccine.

University of Queensland researchers Ian Frazer and Jian Zhou developed the HPV vaccine, Gardasil, in Australia in 2006.

The rate of diagnosis in non-Indigenous females under 21 attending sexual health clinics for genital warts, which HPV causes, dropped from 10.6 percent in 2007 to 0.2 percent in 2022.

Sexual health physician Basil Donovan added Australia is a leader in the rollout of the HPV vaccine. 

“It is important that we target the necessary resources to other STIs to improve the health and well-being of all Australians,” he said. 

Further, Australia has probably eradicated donovanosis, a previously common STI in remote Aboriginal communities. 

The last reported case was in 2014, with no new diagnoses.

Natural Immunity as Optimal Defense: Doctor Says

However, infectious disease specialist Dr. Yuhong Dong advocates for natural immunity as the best defence against STIs, especially persistent HPV, noting it comes with zero side effects.

“Regardless of whether or not someone receives an HPV vaccination, our natural immunity remains essential to our protection against persistent HPV,” she said. 

She recommends maintaining a healthy lifestyle, a balanced diet, sufficient sleep, a healthy weight, regular exercise, mindfulness programs, meditation, and stress reduction to bolster immunity.

Highlighting that around 80 to 90 percent of HPV infections typically resolve on their own within two years, she said natural immunity not only fights the virus but also works against cancer.

“Our immunity is dynamic, resourceful, and able to combat numerous viral variations, especially when the virus keeps changing after HPV vaccination,” she said. 

Meanwhile, Melbourne University researcher Helen Bittleston highlighted the importance of school-based sex education and GP care as crucial preventive measures, according to a recent CSIRO study.

However, she said a lot of young people are apprehensive about physical examinations, and this may be a barrier to raising sexual health with GPs.

Therefore, she said ongoing relationships between GPs and patients are crucial for frequent open discussions about sexual health, leading to increased testing rates.

Jessie Zhang contributed to this article.