Important Health Warning!!! (of course that is if you are interested in your health?)

Health Project

The STI Clinic in the Victoria Hospital in Cork has contacted us here and has informed us of a dramatic increase in Hepatitis B infections among gay men in the Cork City Area.


Do you know that;

- Hep B is a virus which attacks the liver
- It’s 100 times more infectious than HIV
- Those infected may develop cancer/cirrhosis of the liver
- All gay men and men who have sex with men are at risk
- Hep B is found in ALL body fluids
- Hep B is transmitted through oral and anal sex and close body contact which involves the exchange of fluids
- 30-50% of men infected with Hep B will show no symptoms
- There is NO cure for Hep B
- There IS an EFFECTIVE vaccine

If you are sexually active you should;

- be vaccinated against HEP B – GET THE VACCINATION (it’s free)
- know that using condoms correctly for oral and anal sex can REDUSE the risk of infection

What to do
- Call 021 4966844 for a vaccination or to book an STI screening
- Click here for more info on HEP B http://www.gayhealthproject.com/sexual%20health/hepb.html
- If you have any questions contact Moss or Paul at info@gayhealthproject.com or call 021 4278470 or 021 4271087

bopper

Where in the Dubln area can you get the vaccination?

Health Project

Click here to find a list of sexual health serivces in your area

Health Project

STD CLINIC ISSUES SAFE SEX WARNING AFTER HEPATITIS B OUTBREAK

Irish Examiner - Wednesday 29/06/05
by Alan Good

A Clinic in Cork has dealt with more cases of sexually transmitted disease in recent months than anywhere else in the country. Doctors at the Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) Clinic at the South Infirmary Victoria Hospital have dealt with eight cases of hepatitis B since early March.

"Such numbers of hepatitis B cases have not been seen anywhere else in the country - I would urge people to get vaccinated as hepatitis B is a preventable disease," said Dr. Mary Horgan, consultant in infectious diseases.

"This is a very worrying trend that is particularly evident in young men in their 20s and early 30s who are holidaying in destinations like Thailand. I cannot emphasis enough the importance of practicing safe sex in order to avoid contracting an STI and other diseases such as HIV."

Hepatitis B is more than 100 times infectious than HIV, and can lead to cancer of the liver. One-third of adults who contact it will have no visible symptoms of the disease. A spokesperson for the Southern Gay Men's Health Project (SGMHP) warned that practicing safe sex did not guarantee not contracting the disease.

"As hepatitis B is so infectious and there is no effective cure for it, we would urge people to get the vaccine, which is available for free from STD clinics or privately from GPs," said the spokesperson.

"It's proved to be highly successful, with five years protection once immunity has been reached, and is the only way of preventing contraction."

The increase in hepatitis B cases is mirrored by figures from HSE's STD clinics in Cork and Kerry that show a mammoth 2,300% increase in some STDs over the past 10 years. In 1993, there were 15 instances of chlamydia in the region, compared to 356 in 2003, while cases of ano-genital warts rose from 165 to 611 in the same period."

damien

Health Project wrote:

The increase in hepatitis B cases is mirrored by figures from HSE's STD clinics in Cork and Kerry that show a mammoth 2,300% increase in some STDs over the past 10 years. In 1993, there were 15 instances of chlamydia in the region, compared to 356 in 2003, while cases of ano-genital warts rose from 165 to 611 in the same period." ]

Talk about playing with figures. I can understand the urgent need to educate people and to get them vaccinated but the tabloidesque method of highlighting this need is quite disrespectful to those with more than 4.8 braincells.

The 2300% increase has a lot to do with better reporting and awareness itself. The more you make people aware of STDs and have them attend STD clinics the more the numbers of reported cases will increase in the short to medium term with only a decrease coming in the long term. The increased cases in a way are showing the success of the clinics and education programmes.

Health Project

CLICK HERE TO VIEW POSTER CAMPAIGN AND RATE OUR POSTERS FOR US!

Annasopra

bopper wrote:

Where in the Dubln area can you get the vaccination?

The GMHP clinic in haddington road

http://erha.healthnet.ie/view_categories.php?nCatId=384