Byo STI cases shoot up

Thandeka Moyo, Health Reporter
BULAWAYO province has recorded an increase in new sexually transmitted infections (STIs) cases, the National Aids Council (NAC) has said.

According to NAC, 2 644 STI cases were recorded in the second quarter of this year, signifying an increase in new infections when compared to figures recorded both in the first quarter of this year and also during the same period last year.

During the first quarter, 2 494 new STI cases were recorded.

“The province recorded a downward trend in the number of new STI clients reported in the second quarter between 2014 and 2016. However, 2017 statistics show a slight increase in new STI cases reported at public health institutions in the province,” reads the report.

“In 2014, we recorded 5 965 cases during the same period and they went down to 2 382 the following year. The cases went down in 2016 when we recorded 2 127 but shot up slightly this year to 2 644.”

NAC Bulawayo provincial monitoring and evaluation officer Mr Douglas Moyo recently said inconsistent use of condoms and low risk perception was the major cause of the high number of new STIs.

“We recorded 1 396 new STI infections for women and 1 098 for men during the first quarter. However, there was a sharp increase in the number of new female cases from 993 in 2016 to 1 396 in 2017 which shows people are reckless and engaging in unprotected sex,” he said.

According to NAC, some of the people who had STI tested for HIV and the results for some came as positive.

“We had 305, 242 and 265 STI patients testing for HIV in April, May and June respectively. However, the month of May recorded highest HIV positivity rate at 31 percent and June recorded the lowest rate at 17 percent,” NAC said. — @thamamoe.