Spread holiday cheer not gonorrhea, N.B. health department suggests - Toronto Sun

Clap back is one of those new social media phrases about defending your stance, but when health officials warn the clap is back, that’s an entirely different thing. The New Brunswick Department of Health is doing just that, urging everyone to practice safe sex as we approach the festive season’s parties and over-indulgence, CBC reports. The province hasn’t been able to shake a 2018 outbreak of gonorrhea, according to Dr. Jennifer Russell, chief medical officer of health. “This holiday season spread holiday cheer, not #gonorrhea,” says a provincial ad posted on Twitter this week.

The province recorded 96 cases of the sexually-transmitted disease during 2018 while there were only 54 cases for all of the previous five years. The trend might be declining a bit as there were 20 cases in the first three months of this year. “We’re seeing an increase in testing across the province, and that’s very encouraging,” Russell said.

The province has hired an outside consultant and posted information on the health department’s website. There, visitors can find the symptoms, with both men and women experiencing discharges from their vagina or penis and burning sensations while urinating. The infection is spread through unprotected vaginal, oral or anal sex even when it seems like there are no symptoms, the department says. It’s treated with antibiotics but it’s becoming resistant to drugs and treatment once doesn’t mean you can’t get it again, it said If left untreated, gonorrhea can spread to women’s reproduction organs and cause pelvic inflammatory disease that can cause pain and infertility, the department says. In men the effects can be painfully swollen testicles and sterility, it said.

People having sex with sex trade workers, men having sex with men and people have sex with multiple partners are most at risk, the department said.

“If you’re using dating apps and having anonymous, unprotected sexual encounters,” Russell said, “then you really need to get tested even if you don’t have any symptoms.”



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