Concern at rate of illness among gay population

THE Gay Men’s Health Service has expressed concern at the high rate of illness among the Irish gay population.

Launching its annual report, the GMHS said there had been a 5% increase in first-time attendees, and one-third of clients were aged 24 or younger.

The figures also show that more than one-third of clients at the service were born outside of Ireland, while 15% lived in Dublin city and county.

According to the report, at least one-in-10 clients received some sort of diagnosis as a result of the increase in STI screening and blood tests for HIV and syphilis. The statistics show that 3% of clients were diagnosed with syphilis and 5% with HIV, with a higher percentage among those attending the GMHS for the first time.

A campaign aimed at younger gay men will be launched this year, according to the annual report, specifically targeting those people living outside main urban areas in Dublin Mid Leinster and Dublin North East.

In all, the GMHS clinic received 3,304 nursing contacts last year, up 7% compared with the figure for the previous year, and at 2,295 had a 16% increase in the number of syphilis tests.

HIV tests increased by 14% to 2,089, and according to the report there were approximately 267 positive diagnoses made in 2010, including 170 STI diagnoses, 29 HIV and 68 of treatable syphilis.

About 29% of those diagnosed with STIs were aged 24 or younger, with a further 26% aged between 24 and 29 years.

Last year, 16% of the 686 first-time attendees of the service received a diagnosis.