A dramatic spike in the cases of gonorrhea across the province is concerning the local health unit.
A 35 percent increase has been reported between January and September in both 2017 and 2018.
The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit Infectious Disease program manager, Jillian Fenik says, “The trend means that potentially there’s more gonorrhea out in the community. So there is a greater risk for people who are sexually active to get gonorrhea.”
Fenik says the sexually transmitted infection is becoming harder to treat because of its resistance to antibiotics. According to health officials, gonorrhea is the second most reported bacterial infection, and in 2013 the antibiotic prescribed to treat it failed worldwide.
While the statistics show the spike in cases includes a variety of age groups, the health unit says the majority is young adults between the ages of 15 to 24.
Fenik believes people are taking risks by not using condoms, or by having more than one partner in less than six months.
There are two antibiotics currently prescribed to treat the infection.
