Drinking culture blamed for sex infection Chlamydia

WELLINGTON - A Kiwi sexual health expert has blamed New Zealand’s youth drinking culture for the high rates of sexually transmissible infection chlamydia.

A report shows high rates of chlamydia transmission among under 25-year-olds in Waikato.

The report, submitted to the Health Waikato Advisory Committee, shows that between February 2008 and January 2010 in Waikato, 16 percent of those under 25 who were tested were positive for chlamydia.

Also, the report shows that Maori were more likely to carry the disease with more than one in five young Maori women testing positive compared to one in nine non-Maori.

Among the general population including those who have not been tested, estimates are that one in 10 young people are infected, as per the report.

“Unfortunately, excessive drinking means people are sometimes not sure who they’ve had sex with,” Stuff.co.nz quoted Waikato sexual health physician Jane Morgan as saying.

“If people don’t use a condom, or have many sexual partners, the risk of getting a sexually transmitted infection increases significantly,” Morgan added. (ANI)