UCD: VD hotspot?

Night Flight

Booze culture turns UCD into sex infection 'hotspot'
By NIAMH HORAN
Sunday July 20 2008

Ireland's largest university has become a "hotspot" for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), with one in 10 of those screened now testing positive for chlamydia.

Dr Derek Freedman, a consultant in genito-urinary medicine, and one of Ireland's leading specialists on STIs, said he is seeing a "steady stream" of students from UCD testing positive for the disease.

Chlamydia often has no obvious symptoms. But if it is left untreated it can lead to severe complications. It is widely believed to cause pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and sometimes infertility in women, and in men it can lead to inflammation of the testicles and sperm-conducting tubes, and affect joints.

Dr Freedman said a culture of binge-drinking teamed with casual sex is adding to the problem.

"In Dublin, people come in and they report 30, 40 or 50 sexual partners. Some even report into the hundreds. They've lost count. I tell them to put their names on a spread sheet so they'll remember.

"That is so important for contact tracing and stopping the spread of infection. If you don't know the name and phone number, how can you let someone know that they are in trouble? These infections are totally silent. You do not know until someone tells you."

Dr Freeman also explained how alcohol plays its part. "People are also so drunk they can't remember who they've had sex with. That's the biggest problem.

"Belfield is a particular example. You have 20,000 to 25,000 young people who are away from home, there's a fair bit of drink on board and they're going through an age of personal exploration -- but there's no facilities available for STI screening.

"In screening situations it's generally reckoned that in Ireland between 2 and 4 per cent carry chlamydia. But out in Belfield it could be as high 10 per cent."

The STI expert said a lack of vital screening facilities available on campus is exacerbating the problem.

"I think UCD is a particular hotspot. The student health services have been seeking screening facilities for a long time but they haven't been resourced to do it. I have a constant stream of people from UCD coming to see me.

"It's like casual sex, if the health system doesn't provide the resources or the guidelines so that people can be streamed and tested for chlamydia, what do you expect but a high instance? It's like saying the problem isn't there.

"The National Reference Centre for chlamydia-testing, in St James's Hospital, in Dublin only recently obtained a machine capable of handling the volume of specimens sent there and over the last 20 years there have been periods of time when they've had to suspend access to their chlamydia-testing because they didn't have the facilities to deal with the high volume of tests. So when you end up with a high prevalence of infection, what do you expect?" He continued: "We don't have any control programme for chlamydia in Ireland. In the absence of that, it's not surprising the prevalence is so high.

"What is very surprising is that places where you know there is a very high level of chlamydia present, such as in universities, Belfield in particular, don't even have proper facilities on campus for STI screening.

"This is one particular area where there has been no input by the public health authorities to try and contain this problem."

Dr Freedman said the lack of facilities at Ireland's largest university was a disgrace saying, "Trinity, DCU and DIT all have the service available."

His comments come as a recent study found the number of people in Ireland testing positive for chlamydia increased by more than 10 per cent last year compared to 2006.

The rise is recorded in the annual report of the Dublin Well Woman Centre, which has three clinics in the capital.

The group's report, released last week, shows the number of clients attending for a full STI screening had increased five-fold in five years, while those wanting to be tested for chlamydia had tripled.

However, Dr Freedman says the report is just the tip of the iceberg.

"There are hundreds of thousands of young people and the Well Woman Centre reports that it has screened 5,000. It's a minute amount. No one has really attempted to try and estimate the number of people out there who are carrying the infection and who haven't been screened. And there are lots."

- NIAMH HORAN

http://www.independent.ie/national-n...t-1436184.html

Riamfada

Dont sit on the chairs in Quinn.....



...thats me banned

Handsome Bob

Really not surprised. I'm not judgemental and I have no problem with what anyone does just once they are not hurting anyone, but to be irresponsible when it comes to sex is inexcusable.

Het-Field

LZ5by5 wrote: »

Really not surprised. I'm not judgemental and I have no problem with what anyone does just once they are not hurting anyone, but to be irresponsible when it comes to sex is inexcusable.

As long as you dont come across (or in) that special one in ten, then it doesnt have any impact on you

Handsome Bob

Het-Field wrote: »

As long as you dont come across (or in) that special one in ten, then it doesnt have any impact on you

I'm sure there are many who have the same take on it as you do and have ended up testing positive for something. That's not a shot on you btw:)

The_Minister

Grimes wrote: »

Dont sit on the chairs in Quinn.....



...thats me banned

I laughed so it's ok.

On-topic: .....damn Claire.

elmyra

Pity the journalist didn't give the SU a chance to comment, could've got some good resource-slating in.

Tom65

They say one in ten people screened. Now, call me an idiot if I'm wrong, but does that not mean one in ten people tested? If you've gone to get tested, surely because there's a distinct possibility you have it already?

"In Dublin, people come in and they report 30, 40 or 50 sexual partners. Some even report into the hundreds. They've lost count. I tell them to put their names on a spread sheet so they'll remember.

I'd be willing to guess people who say they've had "30, 40, or 50" partners are lying. Or are lucky bastards.

Stepherunie

To be fair, I think it's unfair to single out UCD students.

The rates could be just as high in the other colleges but they have in house testing.

And I see it as socially responsible to actually go get tested. Chlamydia has no obvious symptoms in most cases, and can cause blindness in children born to a mother with active chlamydia. It can also cause infertility.

We go on about responsible sex, well making sure that you don't have an STI is also part of that, condoms are not 100% effective against STIs and yet people seem to think that using protection will prevent anything bad from happening. At the end of the day, when you have sex with someone, you don't just have sex with them, you have sex with every partner they've ever had (in a figurative way of course). If you're not open enough to have a talk with them about there previous sexual history then the need for regular STI screening is incredibly important.

For many women, and STI screen would also include a PAP smear with can find HPV infections, some of which are high indicators for Cervical Cancer. PAP smears are recommended every 2 years for every woman over 25, or after you first start having sex. Yet in UCD, a pap smear will only be undertaken on someone over the age of 25.

UCC have some crazy statistics like 100% of Law students who were tested in one year has some type of STI. Actually they have a great policy where all Societies must have an STI awareness talk annually, at least they used.

The health centre in UCD will also blame anything on an STI. I once went in with an ear infection and was asked for a sexual history and whether or not my ear infection could be as a result of an STI.

griffdaddy

you must be a great girl for the aural sex

Stepherunie

I was attempting a serious conversation there.

I'd rather you keep your notions, be they intended to be humorous or not, about me to yourself in future.

Presumptuous in the extreme.

griffdaddy

number 1: lighten up.
number 2: your single experience doesn't equal 'The health centre in UCD will also blame anything on an STI.' In fact, that's borderline slanderous.

singingstranger

griffdaddy wrote: »

your single experience doesn't equal 'The health centre in UCD will also blame anything on an STI.' In fact, that's borderline slanderous.

Well, actually, I know at least six people who have gone up to the Centre with sore throats or muscular pain and were asked "if they knew the guy", and were told that "they could admit it".

griffdaddy

Well I've never heard of anyone having the possibility of an sti suggested to them unless they asked for a test explicitly (that's not necessarily a good thing either though). I went in for a diagnosis with muscle pains in my neck and a sore throat and he gave me a once over and told me i had an chest infection, sti's never came up in the conversation, although, he could have been working under the assumption that i was too ugly to be having sex :P

Riamfada

join the club

The_Minister

griffdaddy wrote: »

you must be a great girl for the aural sex

1. I lolled
2. Try and be serious as well as joking. Maybe you have an opinion on the actual subject?

bnt

Grimes wrote: »

join the club

The Chlamydia Club? No thanks. Do you think we're in for a repeat this year?

I suppose this is a good time to warn all new UCD students: last year, UCD got blasted for high STD infection rates, especially Chlamydia. So, if you must get drunk and ride that bike, make sure the tyres are inflated. :eek:

ChocolateSauce

Well us students are sexually charged. I've had sex with 8 women in the last 4 months...and one man. I guess I'm due for a checkup, huh? :rolleyes:

But seriously, sexual health is a serious business, and this report would make me ever so slightly less inclined to have sex with another UCDian. I've been infected with chlamydia before. I got it from my girlfriend when I was 18 (now 21), and we were in a "stable" long-term, supposedly monogamous relationship. That just goes to show that VD can rear its ugly head any time, even when you think you're safe.