There appears to be quite a number of people living with sexually transmitted infections (STI) in the Royal City and surrounding areas.
A report delivered at the Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph board of health meeting on Wednesday indicated that the number of STIs in the area has gone up.
In particular, there were 766 reported cases of chlamydia in 2023 compared to 670 in 2022. There were also 14 cases of non-infectious syphilis in 2023 compared with 11 in 2022.
Cases of HIV/AIDS is up two from 2022 to 10 in 2023.
The report also suggests certain STIs have gone down in recent years but the number of cases remain quite high. There were 117 cases of gonorrhea in 2023 compared to 122 the year before, and 18 infectious syphilis cases in 2023 down from 32 in 2022.
“What we are seeing is a fraction of the overall picture,” said Dr. Matthew Tanenbaum, associate medical officer of health. “It is not like we are seeing this consistent year over year increase but we are operating at a high level of these infections.”
Those between 15 and 29 years of age are more common to have chlamydia compared to older demographics, according to the report. It also says the vast majority of those living in the region with syphilis are men.
Tanenbaum doesn’t think cities with universities or post-secondary institutions like Guelph or Waterloo see higher STI cases than those without one. But he said there is no coincidence that there are more cases of STIs being reported since the COVID-19 restrictions were lifted.
“We know that during the most intense periods of the COVID-19 pandemic, when we had social distancing, restrictions on gatherings, and very different norms around person-to-person interactions, we saw a lot these diseases go down in terms of their rates.”
Some of the symptoms of STIs include a burning sensation while urinating, discharge from the genital area, pain in the pelvic area in women, and itching in the genitals in men.
Tanenbaum said the best way to find out if you have an STI is to get tested. He said while there are a high number of cases for STIs, there are more who have it but don’t show any symptoms.
“They will only find out when they go in and see their family doctor or a sexual health clinic, and they do a screening testing,” he said. “It is common that people who have no symptoms at all, find out that they have these infections and are treated for them. But it is also concerning because it means they have the infection and could pass it on to others.”
One of the more common ways STIs are passed on is through unprotected sexual contact, whether it same sex or opposite sex, and having multiple partners within the last six months. Some STIs like syphilis can also be transmitted through pregnancy.
“Consider things like condoms, talk to your partner about their sexual history, and reducing the number of sexual partners reduces the occasions you have to be exposed,” said Tanenbaum.
The health unit reopened their sexual health clinics last year and are available by appointment at 1-800-265-7293 ext. 7006.
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