(A cartoon in today’s edition of NZ’s ‘The Press’)

Irish workers helping with the [post earthquake] rebuild are sharing the love but it seems they may also be helping to spread sexual diseases.

While there are no concrete figures to analyse who is giving chlamydia to whom, health data show the number of confirmed cases in the Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB) region has been increasing since 2011.

Board sexual health director Edward Coughlan said the clinic had started recording the number of Irish nationals making appointments, and there had “definitely been an increase” in the past two years.

Christchurch Hospital’s emergency department and the sexual health clinic had since started recording the nationalities of all people associated with the rebuild.

Figures for other international workers were not yet available.

…CDHB member Aaron Keown said New Zealand historically had high rates of STIs but guessed it would be local women passing infections on to rebuild workers and not the other way around.

“Statistically Kiwi women have been found to have a lot more sexual partners than other women [in other countries] and these Irish lads might not be used to living somewhere with such high STI rates.”

He said many women found the Irish accent alluring and “jovial and outgoing” rebuild workers were cashed up and going out regularly.

“If you take one plus one plus one, you get three and that would likely end up as chlamydia.”