Better health and ageing for all Australians

Blood borne viruses and sexually transmissible infections

Second National Sexually Transmissible Infections Strategy

The Second National Sexually Transmissible Infections Strategy 2010-2013 builds on the first national Sexually Transmissible Infections (STIs) Strategy. It is also one of a suite of five strategies aiming to reduce the transmission of sexually transmissible infections (STIs) and blood borne viruses (BBVs), and the morbidity, mortality and personal and social impacts they cause.

In this section:


    Trends

    STIs are infections that can be spread during sexual contact. They are common in Australia and are responsible for a significant amount of long-term morbidity. Most seriously, the presence of an STI can increase the chances of HIV transmission. Chlamydia infection can also lead to infertility in infected women.
    • In 2010 chlamydia was the most frequently reported notifiable condition in Australia with 74 305 reported diagnoses.
    • The population rate of diagnosis of chlamydia in 2010 was 319 per 100,000 population, a 17% increase over the rate in 2009, continuing the increase seen over the past ten years.
    • The number of diagnoses of gonorrhoea increased by 25%, from 7 993 cases in 2009 to 10 015 in 2010.
    • The rate of diagnosis of infectious syphilis increased by 60%, from 4.2 per 100 000 population in 2006 to 6.7 in 2007 and declined to 4.9 in 2010.
    • Substantially higher rates of diagnosis of chlamydia and gonorrhoea were recorded in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population compared with non-Indigenous population.
    • Following the introduction of vaccination against human papilloma virus, the proportion of young Australian resident women diagnosed with genital warts dropped from 10.9% in 2007 to 3.4% in 2010.

    Links to other strategies

    Guidelines/Information Sheets/Publications

    HIV, viral hepatitis and sexually transmissible infections in Australia Annual Surveillance Report 2011, published by the Kirby Institute for infection and immunity in society (formally the National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research (NCHECR)).

    Symptoms of STIs can be found on the STI website.

    A list of publications is available from the publications page.