The number of cases of sexually transmitted disease in Alberta is rising at an alarming rate.
Last year cases of gonorrhea in Alberta were up 80 per cent from 2014, the highest in 30 years. Cases of syphilis have doubled since 2014.
Dr. Karen Grimsrud, chief medical officer of health in Alberta, said this week that social media tools are allowing people to arrange anonymous sexual encounters online.
When people don’t know their partners it makes it difficult for health officials to contact sexual partners to treat them for sexually transmitted infections, she said. The implication is that they unknowingly infect others.
Clearly social media is not transmitting the infections. If people were practicing safe sex, how they found their sexual partners would not matter. However, social media does makes it easier for people to have anonymous connections quickly where they may be less inclined to negotiate or prepare for safe sex.
The numbers are alarming, but statistics don’t tell the complete story. The number of reported cases is likely the tip of the iceberg. Many people who have infections show no symptoms. Unless they specifically request testing, people do not know they are infected, nor do they know that they may be transmitting their infection to others.
Left untreated, many sexually transmitted infections pose health and fertility risks. Untreated gonorrhea and chlamydia can put men at risk of testicular infections and in some cases causes infertility. Gonorrhea and chlamydia can be passed from mother to baby during birth causing eye infections, pneumonia and even blindness.
Reducing the incidence of sexually transmitted disease means identifying and treating the infections. It also demands that people practice safe sex to protect themselves and others.
Parents should also beware. Most children have cell phones that expose them to the online world, to good and bad effect. Parents need to monitor how children are using their phones to keep them safe from sexual encounters. Parents could teach their children about the importance of practicing safe sex early. When young people engage in sex they will have the language and the skills to negotiate and prepare for safe sex with a partner.
Government dollars alone can’t solve this problem. It was just five years ago that Gene Zwozdesky, then Alberta health minister, was calling the high rate of sexually transmitted disease in Alberta unacceptable. At that time Alberta had the highest rate of STIs in Canada.
In 2011 Alberta announced a five-year, $14-million campaign to create awareness and treatment with the ultimate goal of reduce the rate of sexually transmitted infections. Clearly this has not solved the problem.
Today health officials say the province will step up awareness campaigns that focus on the dangers of anonymous sexual encounters, STI testing and encourage safe sex including use of condoms.
Everyone who is sexually active needs inform themselves of the risks and take action to practice safe sex. If you have engaged in unsafe sex, get checked at one of the sexual health clinics. Health authorities must step up testing to discover and treat infections. Government must continue to fund clinics and awareness campaigns that keep this public health concern in the foreground.
