STI rates plunge in Mansfield and Ashfield during pandemic

Sexually transmitted infection rates plunged in Mansfield and Ashfield as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, figures suggest.
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Fewer people having sex during lockdowns and disruption to health services contributed to a steep drop in STI diagnoses in England last year, experts say.

The British Association for Sexual Health and HIV warned the latest figures could represent ‘the tip of the iceberg’.

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Public Health England data shows 598 STIs were diagnosed in Mansfield in 2020 – 26 per cent fewer than the year before.

Fewer people having sex during lockdowns and disruption to health services contributed to a steep drop in STI diagnoses in England last year, experts say.Fewer people having sex during lockdowns and disruption to health services contributed to a steep drop in STI diagnoses in England last year, experts say.
Fewer people having sex during lockdowns and disruption to health services contributed to a steep drop in STI diagnoses in England last year, experts say.

It meant 547 in every 100,000 people in the area were infected with potentially life-changing diseases including syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia.

However, that rate was down from 2019, when 742 in 100,000 people in Mansfield were diagnosed with an STI.

The most common infection in the area was chlamydia with 361 cases found in 2020. A further 64 gonorrhoea cases were diagnosed, as well as two of syphilis, 54 of genital herpes and 47 of genital warts.

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In Ashfield, cases fell 18 per cent to 709, or 552 in every 100,000, down from 672.

Cases included 434 of chlamydia and 93 of gonorrhoea as well as six of syphilis, 60 of genital herpes and 54 of genital warts.

In Newark & Sherwood, 499 STIs were diagnosed in 2020 – 31 pe cent fewer than the year before.

It meant 405 in every 100,000 people in the area were infected, down from 591 in 2019.

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Cases included 307 of chlamydia, 33 of gonorrhoea, 12 of syphilis, 48 of genital herpes and 47 of genital warts.

Dr John McSorley, BASHH president, said the national drop in diagnoses highlighted the ‘stark and concerning’ impact coronavirus has had on sexual health services.

He said: “While a drop in the number of new infections appears positive, it is important to remember England entered the pandemic with the highest rates of some STIs since the Second World War.

“This data therefore likely represents the tip of the iceberg.

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“STIs haven’t gone away, chains of infections haven’t been broken."

He urged people to come forward for testing, saying STIs infections could have life-changing consequences.

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‘Serious consequences’

Dr Katy Sinka, from PHE, said: “No-one wants to swap social distancing for an STI, and as we enjoy the fact that national Covid-19 restrictions have lifted, it’s important that we continue to look after our sexual health and wellbeing.

“If you are having sex with new or casual partners, use a condom and get tested.

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“STIs can pose serious consequences to your own health and that of your current or future sexual partners.”

The national drop reflects a combination of reduced STI testing as a result of pandemic-influenced disruption to sexual health services and changes in sexual behaviour since March 2020, according to a PHE report.

It said testing and diagnoses decreased across all infections during the first year of the coronavirus pandemic, but sexual health services continued to diagnose hundreds of thousands of infections after scaling up telephone and internet consultations during lockdown periods.

Face-to-face appointments for urgent or complex cases also continued in that time.

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