CONTACT INVESTIGATOR in St. Ann for Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), Rose Gaynor, has called on Jamaican men to avoid multiple sex partners and to maintain healthy lifestyles.
She said that multiple sex partners would only increase the risk of contracting STIs, and also contribute to conflicts at home.
Mrs. Gaynor was speaking at a public forum on men's health, organised by the St. Ann Health Department at the Brown's Town car park, recently.
Noting that there were 6,549 reported cases of HIV/AIDS across the island so far this year, as against 5,545 reported cases last year, she pointed out that 54 per cent of the cases were men.
"These were only the figures we have found out, because there are others we do not know about, but HIV/AIDS is on the increase," the contact investigator added.
Mrs. Gaynor said that HIV/AIDS was more prevalent among males in the age group 20-29 years and 30-35 years, and emphasised that for men to enjoy good health, they needed to take greater responsibility for their sex lives.
She said that many men were avoiding the use of condoms during the sex act, stressing that "every sex act has a consequence, and so safe sex was crucial for the prevention of HIV/AIDS."
Mrs. Gaynor encouraged men in the parish to make use of the health facilities, and reminded them that "you cannot know if you have HIV/AIDS unless you are tested."
