Archival records reveal prevalence of sexually transmitted infections during Otago's gold rush less than purported

Sexually transmitted infections in Otago's gold rush era were less common than popular culture books portray, University of Otago—Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka research has found. The first-of-its-kind study, published in the Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, explored hospital records and newspaper articles from 1864 to 1869 in Otago to reveal the prevalence of syphilis and gonorrhea infections and societal attitudes about those with them.