The number of reported cases of chlamydia and gonorrhea increased sharply in the latter half of 2022. This is shown by figures from FHI’s reporting system for infectious diseases. – Have been isolated for a long period of time – I think it has something to do with the fact that it has been very isolated for a long period of time. And then one comes out again. There are many who have not been to the city before. And one experiences new aspects of one’s life, says Johan Grøgaard whom news meets at NTNU. Student Johan Grøgaard believes that many people may take condom use a little lightly. Photo: Emma Lorin Havend / news He believes that many who have gone from secondary school to university have not received sufficient sex education. – There has been little focus on information; a lot of focus on infection control, and little on limiting sexual infection. – You may be very careful about contraception to prevent unwanted pregnancy, but you are not as good at using contraception to avoid sexually transmitted diseases. At the University of Oslo, they are not surprised by the increase. Student Sara Vår Kolflåth Grødem believes that people are too stupid to use condoms. – I think people in Norway are very bad at it. It is not very popular to be asked about wearing a condom. news meets Charlotte Sofie Halseth and Sara Vår Kolflåth Grødem at the University of Oslo. Photo: Martin Leigland / news Student Anna Sørli Asmervik agrees. – I think it’s about bad culture for using condoms. And perhaps laziness, he says. Student Anna Sørli Asmervik thinks it is bad culture to use condoms. Photo: Emma Lorin Havend / news – When many others don’t do it, one becomes lazy about it. Tenfold increase in gonorrhea cases among young women In the last ten years, there has been a tenfold increase in gonorrhea cases among young women. FHI has previously said that they are concerned about the development. The number of cases of infection has more than tripled from 2021 to 2022. Doctor at Sex and Society, Simon Ertzeid, has noticed a strong increase in recent years: – I started working permanently as a doctor at Sex and Society 2 years ago. Back then, gonorrhea was a rare thing, seen maybe once a month. Maybe two if one had a bit of bad luck. – Now since August there have been three or four almost every day. We have seen quite a large increase here at the clinic, and now comes the report from FHI which says exactly the same. – Green goo that comes out of the pee Ertzeid tells of gonorrhea is very contagious, and that it is women in particular who are exposed to infection. – Gonorrhea is very contagious, and if you have a vagina and have sex with someone with a penis, there is a 50 to 70 percent chance that you will get gonorrhea if that penis has gonorrhea in it. – In an environment with frequent changing of partners and little condom use, the number as we see now rose. Gonorrhea was formerly called drip. The name comes from the symptoms the disease gives. – It is a very descriptive word. Because dripped, many of the symptoms you get are sure you have a penis. It is typically green mucus that comes out of the pee. It looks a bit like you have a barbed wire in there too, says Ertzeid. – If you have a vagina or uterus, you may experience bleeding and pain. But there is also a 50 percent chance that you will not notice that you have these symptoms, he adds. Worry about resistance – We are particularly worried about gonorrhea, because we know it is much worse than chlamydia, says Trine Aarvold, doctor at Sex og Samfunn. She says that gonorrhea is a bacterium like chlamydia, and infects in the same way. – But the bacteria also thrives in the throat, and can infect the throat. It is a much more virulent bacterium than Chlamydia. It also requires a different type of treatment, she says. Doctor at Sex and Society, Trine Aarvold, says that they are concerned that gonorrhea eventually cannot be treated with antibiotics. Photo: ANNA RYDLAND NÆRUM / news – Now we are a bit on the last chance for treatment for gonorrhea, says Simon Ertzeid. – We have changed treatment a couple of times in the past. Injection in the ass is the last one we have. We have not discovered types of gonorrhea resistant to this type of treatment in Norway, but there are quite a few cases around the world. It is only a matter of time before he comes here, he insists. FHI: – It is important that people get tested – Knowledge about sexually transmitted diseases is important. And then condom use is clearly decisive in reversing the trend. It is important that people get tested if they have been in a situation where they suspect that they have been infected, senior doctor at FHI Anne Olaug Olsen tells news. She says that they are not particularly surprised that the number of sexually transmitted diseases is increasing. Senior physician at FHI Anne Olaug Olsen. Photo: Arnfinn Nygaard / news – It is not surprising considering that we have been through a pandemic and society is now opening up. What surprises is the increase in gonorrhea among young heterosexually infected people. She believes the increase is due to several things. Among other things, that youth and young adults do not understand how contagious gonorrhea is. New peak year for chlamydia There was a decline in chlamydia during the pandemic. In 2022, registered cases of chlamydia are at the same level as in 2019, which was a peak year for chlamydia. Both syphilis and HIV are also on the rise. The Institute of Public Health writes that the HIV situation is characterized by the fact that a large number of HIV-positive refugees and immigrants came to Norway after the pandemic. In 2022, 245 HIV cases were reported, while the number in 2021 was 102. 78 percent of the 245 cases were infected before they came to Norway.
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Strong increase in chlamydia and gonorrhea – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
