The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reminded people to practice safe sex, as rates of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) have risen annually and more than 90 percent of people reported having unprotected sex.
While the number of people with AIDS/HIV dropped over the past three years, people with STDs rose, CDC statistics showed.
For instance, the number of people with gonorrhea rose from 7,082 in 2020 to 7,381 in 2021 and 8,015 last year, the data showed.
More than 70 percent of patients were under 30 years old, the CDC said.
The number of people with syphilis also grew annually — from 8,800 in 2021 to 9,631 last year, with 60 percent of patients younger than 35, the CDC said.
More than 90 percent of the younger generation are being exposed to STDs are due to unsafe sexual practices, CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said.
Young people have paid a lot of attention to respiratory infection diseases over the past three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but their awareness and knowledge of STDs have not grown at all, Lo said.
Aside from preventive measures, Lo encouraged people who might be at risk to get an HIV test.
Eighty-two medical facilities provide anonymous HIV testing services, and these facilities also provide consultation services and transfer people to other hospitals if they wish, the CDC said.
HIV self-testing kits can be obtained from hospitals, kiosks or by ordering online, it said.
The CDC also encourages those at risk of being infected by HIV to take pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) medication, which offers a 90 percent chance of protection.
The 63 publicly funded PrEP facilities across the nation provide service for spouses of people with HIV/AIDS or those under the age of 35.
The CDC added that 95 hospitals provide the same services and provide PrEP, but users have to pay for the services.
UPGRADE: The Kang Ding-class frigate is replacing its Chaparall missiles with Tien Chien II and Hua Yang VLS, which would provide it with long-range, 360° air defense Taiwan plans to produce 1,200 to 1,376 Hai Chien II missiles (海劍二, Sea Sword II) — also known as TC-2N — to serve as the standard air defense system of the navy’s surface combatant fleet, a source said yesterday. Last week, the Hai Chien II, the naval version of the Tien Kung II missile (天劍二, Sky Sword II), completed a live-fire test in waters off the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology’s Jiupeng facility (九鵬) in Pingtung County’s Manjhou Township (滿州). The MIM72 Chaparral and other dated air defense missiles that currently arm Taiwanese ships have inadequate range to combat Chinese
REASONS FOR TRAVEL: An assistant professor said that proposed amendments to penalize drivers if they used drugs overseas would not deter people from traveling People who operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would have their driver’s license revoked, even if they used the substance while overseas, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday, citing proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例). The amendments would also authorize the government to revoke the licenses of people determined to have used Category 1 or Category 2 narcotics, even if they were not operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs, as well as ban them from taking the license test for three years, the ministry said. People aged 18 or
Johanne Liou (劉喬安), a Taiwanese woman who shot to unwanted fame during the Sunflower movement protests in 2014, returned to Taiwan last night after being deported from the US. She is to stand trial in Taiwan for charges involving embezzlement, fraud and drug crimes. The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said it took her into custody at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and would first question her before transferring her to the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. She was arrested upon disembarking a flight from San Francisco that landed shortly before 7pm. Liou absconded to the US in 2019 after jumping bail
Shih Hsin University President Chen Ching-he (陳清河) yesterday issued a public apology for comments made in his commencement speech last week, stating that he has asked the school to suspend his duties and halt his wages for two months as a show of contrition. At the commencement ceremony on May 30, Chen said, “If you don’t manage your time well, or your own emotions, or your health, then I am telling every one of you — put a quick end to ‘you,’ because the world has no need for ‘you.’” The comments have sparked significant controversy online, and Chen through an open
RSS