Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Our territorians are being encouraged to get an STI check
for a huge spike in siphless cases. There's been one
hundred and eighty three cases so far this year, with
nt Health standing up an incident management team to drive
numbers down. Now joining us on the line to tell
us more is the acting Chief Health Officer, Paul Burgess.
(00:21):
Good morning to you, PAULK morning, Katie.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
How are you?
Speaker 1 (00:25):
Yeah, really good? Thanks so much for your time this morning. Now, Paul,
how much of an increase has there been in these
cases and how does that compare to previous years.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Yeah, thanks, Katie. We've actually had increasing numbers of siphless
cases since twenty thirteen, really and during the pandemic years
when people weren't moving around so much, we saw those
case numbers decline. Thanks to the hard work of our
health staff testing and treating with restrictions listed from the pandemic,
(00:57):
people are moving around a lot more and with our
that we've seen cases increase. You're right, we've had a
significant increase in twenty twenty five, perhaps more than double that.
We were around about double what we would have seen
in previous years. So it's time for us to really
coordinate activity across the Northern Territory and really try and
(01:18):
drive those case numbers down again.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
So obviously this incident management team has been stood up.
What work are they going to do?
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Yeah, we've got three goals really for the Instant management
team and it's important you'd appreciate that we all need
to move together. We've seen some heroic and fantastic efforts
in isolated areas the Northern Territory every previous years, but
as you'd imagine, the population territory is fairly mobile, so
it's important we all move together. The Inctant Management team,
(01:51):
we are partnering with the Aboriginal community controlled health organizations,
the Norman Territory PHN, those sexual health organizations. Our three
goals to increase testing the simpless and we want to
decrease the time to treatment following a positive test. And critically,
we want to prevent sipless being an issue during pregnancy
(02:15):
for women.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
Who is most at risk of contracting USh.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Simplicit Is are sexually transmitted infection. Both men and women
can get sipless and unfortunately also it can be passed
on to babies during pregnancies. So people who are sexually
active and I guess who want more than one partther
and would be at risk and simplest is a tricky
illness because symptoms can be mild and easy to miss,
(02:45):
so and you may have no symptoms at all. So
it's really important that we put the education out there
around safe sex behaviors such as using condoms and having
regular sexual health testing. It's really the best way to
text yourself and your sexual partners from sexually transmit infections,
including syphilis.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
What are the signs and symptoms? I mean, I know
you said that they can be difficult to see or
some people may not even have them, but what are
those signs and symptoms?
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Yeah, it's important to say. It can be nothing, so
people may not know they have syphilis. Generally speaking, around
two to three weeks after contracting syphless, some people can
develop a saw or an ulcer, and it can be
small and easy to miss, and that's an ulcerer would
appear at the point of sexual contact. In a few
(03:39):
weeks down the track. The second stage of syphilis is
generally you get a rash on the body and also
on the soles of the feats and on the palms
of the hand. But again it's quite mild and can
be easy to miss. So if any of those sinces
do arise, it is a prompt to get tested. But
even if you have no symptoms wondering that your sexual
(04:02):
health is no profitable to come and have a free
and confidential sexual health checkup either with your GP or
your community health clinic or through the Northern Cheretric Government's
clinic thirty four locations in the five regional centers.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
Okay, so people will be able to jump online and
find those centers, the regional centers or just get in
contact with their GP.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
Absolutely, And the important thing is that we do have
people get testing for sexual health. That I would see
it as a former GP is just an important part
of your general health checkup is to every now and
then have a sexual health checkup. If you are sexually
active then particularly no younger age groups, we do recommend
(04:47):
you have a sexual health checkup as part of your
check up every year.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
Hey, Poul, before I let you go, I understand there's
also been a recorded well the first recorded case of
XDR gonorrhea in May.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
What is that? Yeah, looks a different topic. We can
speak to that of detail another time. But what we
see generally speaking, is gonorrhea is another sexually transmitted infection.
What we're seeing worldwide is emerging resistance to the standard
antibiotics primarily that's been an issue in overseas locations, particularly
(05:22):
in Southeast Asia and XDRS down for extensive drug resistance.
So it means our first line therapies that are still
quite affect to the Northern territory may not be effective
or I guess gonnery infections picked up and overseas locations.
So again the critical message here in the public health
sense is safe sex behaviors are really important, particularly if
(05:45):
you're traveling. Using condoms and having sexual health testing are
really the best ways to protect your health and the
health of your partners.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
Well, I really appreciate your time this morning, Acting Chief
Health Officer, Paul Burgess, thank you so much for having
a chat with us.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
Thank you, Cardi, thank you
Our territorians are being encouraged to get an STI check
for a huge spike in siphless cases. There's been one
hundred and eighty three cases so far this year, with
nt Health standing up an incident management team to drive
numbers down. Now joining us on the line to tell
us more is the acting Chief Health Officer, Paul Burgess.
(00:21):
Good morning to you, PAULK morning, Katie.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
How are you?
Speaker 1 (00:25):
Yeah, really good? Thanks so much for your time this morning. Now, Paul,
how much of an increase has there been in these
cases and how does that compare to previous years.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Yeah, thanks, Katie. We've actually had increasing numbers of siphless
cases since twenty thirteen, really and during the pandemic years
when people weren't moving around so much, we saw those
case numbers decline. Thanks to the hard work of our
health staff testing and treating with restrictions listed from the pandemic,
(00:57):
people are moving around a lot more and with our
that we've seen cases increase. You're right, we've had a
significant increase in twenty twenty five, perhaps more than double that.
We were around about double what we would have seen
in previous years. So it's time for us to really
coordinate activity across the Northern Territory and really try and
(01:18):
drive those case numbers down again.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
So obviously this incident management team has been stood up.
What work are they going to do?
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Yeah, we've got three goals really for the Instant management
team and it's important you'd appreciate that we all need
to move together. We've seen some heroic and fantastic efforts
in isolated areas the Northern Territory every previous years, but
as you'd imagine, the population territory is fairly mobile, so
it's important we all move together. The Inctant Management team,
(01:51):
we are partnering with the Aboriginal community controlled health organizations,
the Norman Territory PHN, those sexual health organizations. Our three
goals to increase testing the simpless and we want to
decrease the time to treatment following a positive test. And critically,
we want to prevent sipless being an issue during pregnancy
(02:15):
for women.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
Who is most at risk of contracting USh.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Simplicit Is are sexually transmitted infection. Both men and women
can get sipless and unfortunately also it can be passed
on to babies during pregnancies. So people who are sexually
active and I guess who want more than one partther
and would be at risk and simplest is a tricky
illness because symptoms can be mild and easy to miss,
(02:45):
so and you may have no symptoms at all. So
it's really important that we put the education out there
around safe sex behaviors such as using condoms and having
regular sexual health testing. It's really the best way to
text yourself and your sexual partners from sexually transmit infections,
including syphilis.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
What are the signs and symptoms? I mean, I know
you said that they can be difficult to see or
some people may not even have them, but what are
those signs and symptoms?
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Yeah, it's important to say. It can be nothing, so
people may not know they have syphilis. Generally speaking, around
two to three weeks after contracting syphless, some people can
develop a saw or an ulcer, and it can be
small and easy to miss, and that's an ulcerer would
appear at the point of sexual contact. In a few
(03:39):
weeks down the track. The second stage of syphilis is
generally you get a rash on the body and also
on the soles of the feats and on the palms
of the hand. But again it's quite mild and can
be easy to miss. So if any of those sinces
do arise, it is a prompt to get tested. But
even if you have no symptoms wondering that your sexual
(04:02):
health is no profitable to come and have a free
and confidential sexual health checkup either with your GP or
your community health clinic or through the Northern Cheretric Government's
clinic thirty four locations in the five regional centers.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
Okay, so people will be able to jump online and
find those centers, the regional centers or just get in
contact with their GP.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
Absolutely, And the important thing is that we do have
people get testing for sexual health. That I would see
it as a former GP is just an important part
of your general health checkup is to every now and
then have a sexual health checkup. If you are sexually
active then particularly no younger age groups, we do recommend
(04:47):
you have a sexual health checkup as part of your
check up every year.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
Hey, Poul, before I let you go, I understand there's
also been a recorded well the first recorded case of
XDR gonorrhea in May.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
What is that? Yeah, looks a different topic. We can
speak to that of detail another time. But what we
see generally speaking, is gonorrhea is another sexually transmitted infection.
What we're seeing worldwide is emerging resistance to the standard
antibiotics primarily that's been an issue in overseas locations, particularly
(05:22):
in Southeast Asia and XDRS down for extensive drug resistance.
So it means our first line therapies that are still
quite affect to the Northern territory may not be effective
or I guess gonnery infections picked up and overseas locations.
So again the critical message here in the public health
sense is safe sex behaviors are really important, particularly if
(05:45):
you're traveling. Using condoms and having sexual health testing are
really the best ways to protect your health and the
health of your partners.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
Well, I really appreciate your time this morning, Acting Chief
Health Officer, Paul Burgess, thank you so much for having
a chat with us.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
Thank you, Cardi, thank you
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