Arctic STD rates could signal worrying HIV surge

Rates of sexually transmitted diseases are spreading at an "alarming" rate in Arctic, according to new research.

A new paper, published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, has collated statistics regarding chlamydia and gonorrhea in Canada's three northern territories, as well as southern Canada, Alaska and Greenland, reports the Canadian Press.

The rising rates are also cause for concern with regards to HIV, as they suggest many "have sexual practices that are putting them at risk", said Dionne Gesink Law, a co-author of the paper.

"Our main concern with chlamydia and gonorrhea is that they cause pelvic inflammatory disease and infertility in women," she told the publication.

"When you look at who's actually infected, it's young people and particularly young women. They're carrying the burden.

"They obviously have sexual practices that are putting them at risk for [sexually transmitted diseases]. If [HIV] was to come into the community it could spread quickly."

Researchers from Imperial College London recently announced that they had made significant steps in their understanding of how HIV spreads between cells in the human immune system.

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