Steadily more over 50 year olds are contracting chlamydia

Laboratory.Photo: Gorm Kallestad / NTB scanpix

More over 50 years of age have been diagnosed with chlamydia. In the past ten years there has been a doubling of the figures show the National Institute of Public Health.

 

Last year, 384 Norwegians over 50 years old were diagnosed with the sexually transmitted disease, more than twice as many as ten years ago. 70% of those over 50 who get chlamydia are men reports P4 newspaper.

“It may be an indication that older men have sex with younger women and therefore are more vulnerable to infection with chlamydia,” said Deputy General Manager at Sex and Society, Tore Holte Follestad, to P4.

He thinks many think that chlamydia is a sexual disorder reserved for young people.

‘’Bacteria and viruses are not age-discriminatory. They jump on whoever may appear, so age is not a protective factor.’’

Senior Adviser at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Øyvind Nilsen, said he believes that the reasons for more elderly finding evidence of chlamydia is compounded by various factors.

“It can not be ruled out that this is a sign of a trend in which we live ever longer, are healthier,travel more and that older people have a good life over the years.’’

There were 25,130 cases of chlamydia diagnosed in Norway last year. The number tested for chlamydia was 368,953 for the whole country, and the percentage of positive tests was 6.8%.

 

© NTB scanpix / #Norway Today