A child under the age of 14 has been diagnosed with chlamydia in the last week in Ireland.
Chlamydia remains the most prevalent STI in Ireland, with 228 new infections reported in the week from February 13 to February 19, according to new data from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre.
The majority of new chlamydia infections were recorded in the 20 to 24-year-old age group which accounted for 76 of the cases.
This is followed by 25 to 29-year-olds, with 61 new infections, and 30 to 34-year-olds, with 32 new infections.
However, one child under the age of 14 has also tested positive for the disease.
There have been a total of 1080 instances of chlamydia recorded in 2022 so far, a 35% increase on the same period last year.
In most cases, chlamydia is passed from one person to another from through unprotected sex or using unwashed sex toys. However, it can also be passed from mother-to-baby during delivery.
Chlamydia is diagnosed by taking a urine sample in men and a vaginal swab in women.
Meanwhile, just 26 cases of gonorrhoea were recorded in the last week, bringing the total number for 2022 to 372. This is a 64% increase on the same seven-week period last year.
Syphilis infections are also seeing a spike with the total cases for 2022 up 42% on the same period last year.
There were 13 new cases of syphilis reported for the week ending February 19, bringing the total number for the year so far to 120.
A total of 29 herpes cases were also recorded last week, bringing the yearly total so far to 184, up 32% from last year.
