Age (12.31.03) - Wednesday, December 31, 2003
Lucy Beaumont

Partying fueled by alcohol and drugs makes the New Year's period a busy one for sexual health medical staff, according to Dr. Darren Russell of the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre, a senior lecturer in the department of public health at Melbourne University. Many people, when drunk, forget to carry condoms or do not use them, Russell said.

Russell said increased requests for STD treatment and the morning- after pill are indications that safer-sex messages from previous HIV prevention campaigns are being forgotten. Because HIV has been largely confined to the gay community, "a lot of people think they have nothing to worry about," he said.

Of particular concern: rises in syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia - the most common bacterial infection in Australia. So far this year, the Department of Human Services has recorded 6,244 Victorian chlamydia infections, up from 4,808 at the same time last year. Many infected persons, however, are unaware they have the disease.

"There is evidence that high school kids and [university] students know about HIV but the don't know about anything else," Russell said. "It's conceivable that we could get back to the very high levels [of STDs] of the 1970s and earlier."

Beginning Jan. 1, the morning-after pill will be available without prescription in pharmacies. Russell praised the increased availability of the emergency contraceptive and said he hopes pharmacists will counsel patients on safer-sex practices in the absence of a consultation with a physician.
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