20% of gay men test positive for STIs at clinic

One in five gay men tested positive for a number of sexually-transmitted infections last year, including HIV, it has emerged.

The figures are based on almost 5,850 men who attended the HSE Gay Men’s Health Service last year.

Of the men who received a positive diagnosis, 261 were found to have gonorrhoea — a 43% increase over the previous year.

There were 52 men who tested positive for HIV — a 37% increase over 2011 — while 56 were diagnosed with syphilis — a 22% increase on the previous year.

There was a fall in the number of men diagnosed with chlamydia, at 156, according to the 2012 annual report for the Gay Men’s Health Service.

There were 825 first-time attendees last year, a 5% increase over 2011, and more than one in four first-timers (26%) received an STI diagnosis.

The report shows that 115 (14%) were diagnosed with gonorrhoea, 55 (7%) with chlamydia while 18 (2%) had treatable syphilis and 23 (3%) had a positive HIV diagnosis.

Those aged 24 and younger made up 39% of new attendees, a 20% year-on-year rise, while 37% were born abroad, compared to 39% in 2011.

Of the 354 new HIV cases in 2012, men who have sex with men accounted for 166, or 49%, according to the Health Protection Surveillance Centre.

Gonorrhoea diagnoses also increased last year, not only among men who have sex with men, but also among young heterosexual men and women.

The Gay Men’s Health Service STI clinic operates at Baggot Street Hospital in Dublin, where a significant number of younger men tested positive for a range of STI last year.

Of the 261 men with gonorrhoea, one third were aged 24 or younger, increasing to 59% for those under 29.

It was also found that 46% of the 156 men diagnosed with chlamydia were under 29, as were 42% of the 56 men with syphilis and 46% of the 52 with HIV.

The Gay Men’s Health Service, established 20 years ago, is the only statutory dedicated sexual health service for gay and bisexual men and men who have sex with men.

Meanwhile, Fine Gael TD Jerry Buttimer has urged the country’s major sporting bodies to reach out to the gay community.

Mr Buttimer was speaking at the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation’s first lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender conference in Dublin yesterday.

He said that, in building a fairer Ireland, it was essential that community organisations, trade unions, sporting bodies, and civic society groups took a lead role in getting the message out that being gay was ok.

“If we are to instil a sense of confidence in our young people in terms of their sexual identity, we need organisations such as the GAA, the IRFU, and the FAI to reach out and take a leap toward real equality and building an inclusive society,” said Mr Buttimer.