There was a 10 per cent increase in the number of sexually transmitted infections in 2016, according to preliminary figures from the HSE’s Health Protection Surveillance Centre.
Almost three-quarters of all STIs which were notified last year were in people under the age of 30. Almost 50 per cent of chlamydia cases, 43 per cent of herpes-simplex cases and 37 per cent of gonorrhoea cases notified in 2016 occurred in people between the ages of 15 and 24.
The number of cases of gonorrhoea increased 50 per cent with a total of 1,958 cases notified in 2016. Almost 90 per cent of cases of gonorrhoea were in men and 42 per cent were in men who had sex with men.
There were 512 cases of HIV notified in 2016. The most frequent route of transmission was sex between men, which accounted for nearly 50 per cent of all cases. Twenty per cent of patients diagnosed with HIV had previously been diagnosed with the disease in another country, and most of these were transferring their care to Ireland according to The Health Protection Surveillance Centre.
