Province declares gonorrhea outbreak, launches ad campaign targeting dating apps

New Brunswick has declared a provincial outbreak of gonorrhea and launched an ad campaign after the number of cases nearly doubled, partly because of the growing popularity of dating apps and anonymous, unprotected sexual encounters.

Twenty cases of the sexually transmitted disease were reported across the province between January and March,the province's chief medical officer of health,Dr. Jennifer Russell,said during a news conference on Friday.

The provincial average during thatsame period over the past five years was 12.

Last year, a total of 96 cases were reported provincewide, compared to the annual average over the previous five years of 54.

"So that's a big increase" in a short time, said Russell.

Gonorrehea is on the rise in New Brunswick

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20 cases of gonorrhea were reported in the first quarter of 2019. The average during the same period over the past five years was 12 cases.

The majority of the cases are aged 20 to 39 and they're spread evenly across the province.

"We don't really want to judge, we just want to educate people," said Russell.

If "you're engaging in this type of behaviour, these are the risks that go along with it and here are the things you can do to protect yourself" and your partners.

Public health launched an ad campaign Friday about the outbreak to raise awareness and to remind New Brunswickers about theimportance of practising safe sex whether it's vaginal, oral or anal.

The campaign, which runs untilMay 15,is targeting 18dating sites and app platforms, as well associal media, includingFacebook and Instagram, officials said.

Russell is also urgingthose who are having unprotected sex to get tested every three months because they may have been infected, even if they're not exhibiting any symptoms.

"It's important for New Brunswickersto know that the majority of the time sexually transmitted diseases, such as gonorrhea, do not show symptoms, any signs.

"And with the rise of hookup culture and online dating apps, sexually transmitted diseases are easily spread from one person to another," but more difficult for public health totrack and treat.

Partners can be difficult to trace

Sexually transmitted diseases, sometimes called infections, are caused by a bacteria, virus or parasite passed from one person to another through unprotected sexual contact.

It'snot unusual for individuals who have a sexually transmitted infection, such asgonorrhea, HIV,syphilis and chlamydia,to have more than one infection at the same time, she said.

A urine or swab test can detect the infections, which can be treated with antibiotics.

If left untreated, sexually transmitted diseases can have lasting effects on a person's health and cause infertility, she said.

"Social media tools enable people to communicate quickly to arrange anonymous sexual encounters, resulting in increased difficulty in tracking sexually transmitted infections," Russell said.

"When people don't know their sexual partners' identities, it is difficult to contact those partners for followup testing and treatment."