Surge in STIs across Ireland in 2023

Data revealed that chlamydia, gonorrhea, and genital herpes have been the three most prevalent infections to date this year.

The last year has seen a significant surge in sexually transmitted infections across Ireland, the latest figures show.

Six out of ten infections which are notified to the health system saw jumps on the figures from 2022 from the same period.

Data published by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (Hpsc) revealed that chlamydia, gonorrhea, and genital herpes have been the three most prevalent infections to date this year.

In total, there have been 22,730 infections recorded by the Hpsc — a rise of 29% (5,135) on 2022’s figures.

Of the 22,730 infections to date:

• 12,749 chlamydia cases have been recorded, an increase of 24.2% year-on-year 
• 6,440 cases of gonorrhea have been recorded, a jump of 67.9% on the 2022 figures 
• 1,615 cases of genital herpes have been notified to the Hpsc, representing a rise of 4.7% on this time in 2022.

Other infections to see jumps included lymphogranuloma venereum (up 30.77% year on year) and syphilis (up 8.08% year on year). 

HIV notifications have risen by 9%, from 814 to 888.

HIV notifications in the report represent the first time each individual has a positive HIV test in Ireland.

This will include people who have their first positive HIV test ever, and those who are living with HIV, having previously had a positive HIV test outside of Ireland.

Monkeypox

There is good news when looking at the data for monkeypox (Mpox).

From a peak of 226 in 2022, the rate has fallen by 93% year-on-year to the extent that only 15 cases have been recorded in the first 50 weeks of the year.

More than half of infections (12,569) have been recorded by the Hpsc in HSE East — which covers Dublin, Kildare and Wicklow.

There have been 2,432 STIs recorded in Cork and Kerry so far in 2023, with chlamydia and gonorrhea the most prevalent.

The most viral age group has been those aged between 20-24, with the Hpsc saying that a third of all cases (7,569) have been recorded in that group. 2,161 cases have been found in those aged 15-19, while 27 cases have been recorded in those aged between 0-14.

In terms of gender, more men (13,403) have had an STI than women (9,299).