News

Sexual and Reproductive Health in the NT
What makes us ‘different’?

If you are unfamiliar with sexual and reproductive health in the Northern Territory, it may come as a surprise to hear that there are a few big differences between us and other States or Territories. This has nothing to do with our hot weather, national parks or crocodiles, but it does have a lot to do with our young residents, our high Indigenous populations and remote communities, and our proximity to South East Asia.

This big difference is in our very high rates of Sexually Transmitted Infections, both in the remote communities and in our urban areas. When compared to other parts of Australia, the Northern Territory stands out in terms of the high rates of STI’s in our predominately young population.

The graph below shows our Chlamydia and Gonorrhoea infections for 2005 compared with other states.(1)

This is a worry, particularly for women, because both of these infections but particularly Chlamydia, can stay hidden until they causes problems such as Pelvic Inflammatory Disease, or PID as it is known. This infection can cause scarring of the reproductive tubes, mainly in women but also in men, and that can mean that some women will have problems having babies.

The next graph(2) shows that the problem with Chlamydia is getting worse over time, and that in 2006 the numbers of infections jumped dramatically. While the numbers of infections has risen throughout Australia, it is again more of a problem in the NT where these infections are at a much higher rate. This means that anyone having unprotected sex (that is, not using condoms in penetrative sex to prevent STIs) is at a much greater risk of picking up an infection – even if it only happens on one occasion.

The rates of infections are much higher in Aboriginal communities and this is where the issues of remoteness and lack of access to testing and treatment come into the picture. The prevalence infection is much higher on Indigenous communities, making the risk of infection even greater than for those living in the major centres. At the end of 2005 the rate of infection with gonorrhoea was 18 times higher in the Indigenous population (2175.4 per 100,000) than the non-Indigenous NT population (117.2 per 100,000). However, the non-Indigenous rate was still much higher than the national rate (35.8 per 100,000).(3)

The rates of Chlamydia are also higher than the national rates. The infection rates for the second half of 2006 were 1957.6 for Indigenous and 418.9 for non-Indigenous – compared with the national average of 217.2 in 2005. In 2006 the infection was more of a problem than gonorrhoea for the non-Indigenous community.(4)

The age groups most affected by these types of infections are the 15 – 30 year age group and while this is the same nationally, what again makes the NT different is the predominately young demographics of our population – we are ‘the most youthful of any jurisdiction in Australia’.(5)

The NT is also different from other parts of Australia as a result of our HIV statistics. While we have only small numbers of new infections each year, many of these new cases are of HIV acquired through heterosexual sex.  In 2006 there were 13 new cases of HIV diagnosed and of these, 7 were NT residents. Of these 7 residents, 71.4 of the infections were acquired as a result of heterosexual contact.(7) Some of these infections were acquired by NT residents while visiting countries close to our shore, others were diagnosed in visitors to the NT.

The best way to protect your sexual health is to be aware of the risks and to make the choice to protect yourself and your partner against infection. If you would like to see us for a health check, please ring 89480144 and make an appointment to see our nurses or doctors.

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(1)NT Sexual Health and BBV Unit Surveillance Update: Vol 7, No 2 July-Sept & Oct-Dec 2006.
(2)NT Sexual Health and BBV Unit Surveillance Update: Vol 7, No 2 July-Sept & Oct-Dec 2006.
(3)NT Sexual Health and BBV Unit Surveillance Update: Vol 6, No 2 Jul–Sept & Oct-Dec 2005
(4)NT Sexual Health and BBV Unit Surveillance Update: Vol 7, No 2 July-Sept & Oct-Dec 2006.
(5)Australia’s Demographic Challenges Discussion Paper, June 2004, NT Treasury, p5.
(6)NT Sexual Health and BBV Unit.
(7)NT Sexual Health and BBV Unit Surveillance Update: Vol 7, No 2 July-Sept & Oct-Dec 2006.